ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays led the American League in wins and are heading to the World Series with a non-traditional lineup that features a couple All-Stars and mostly unsung heroes who do whatever it takes to win games.
They make contact, bunt, steal bases but also can hit for power. The Rays finished second to the NL champion Brewers in batting average at .2581 to Milwaukee’s .2585.
Game 1 of the World Series is Friday night in
Milwaukee.
The Rays led the majors with 134 bunts during the regular season, had the fewest strikeouts and were 22nd in homers, playing their brand of small-ball mixed in with some long ball provided mostly by Junior Caminero, Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda.
Speedy left fielder Chandler Simpson is one of the offensive catalysts. He led the team with a .306 batting average and 46 steals. Simpson has no homers in 1,053 career plate appearances in the majors and is a prototypical, old-school leadoff hitter. Not in Kevin Cash’s unorthodox lineup, however. Simpson batted fifth (57) more times than first (37) and was in the No. 3 spot in Game 4 of the AL Championship Series against Cleveland.
“I feel like there’s a lot that goes into it, especially hitting the middle order with dudes that can hit for power in front of you and dudes that can do the same behind you, or run as well,” Simpson said. “Just move defenses around and cause havoc when people are on base or off base. I feel it’s effective when there’s traffic on the base paths or nobody on to start an inning or keep an inning going. Just being able to be contact-reliant and make sure to put the ball in play, moving the ball forward, and try my best to get on base any way I can.”
In an era of baseball where launch angle and exit velocity are emphasized, home runs are prioritized and striking out has become far too acceptable, Simpson plays a different style. He has more success hitting the ball on the ground, doesn’t strike out much (48) and impacts games by getting on base however he can. He had 14 bunt hits.
“It’s fun to play my game,” Simpson said. “There’s a space and there’s a spot for power in our game for sure, but there’s definitely a space for contact, getting on base, playing good defense, running, base running, doing all those things that can win games as well that can complement power to a certain extent.
“So I feel like it’s fun, and I feel like there’s definitely a complementary factor that helps winning ball games. I feel like it can’t just be all power. But it all can’t just be me as well. I feel like it has to work together to pull it out at the end of the day.”
For power, the Rays have Caminero, Díaz and Aranda.
Caminero, a two-time All-Star third baseman, is the anchor of the lineup and usually bats in the third spot or cleanup. He hit .276 with 42 homers, 101 RBIs and had an .885 OPS.
Díaz, the veteran designated hitter, hit .293 with 22 homers, 85 RBIs and led the league with 180 hits while making his second All-Star team. The hulking Díaz – he may have the biggest biceps in the majors — hit two-run homers in 7-3 victories in Games 4 and 6 against the Guardians. Yet, he was the team’s leadoff hitter for 120 games in the regular season and throughout the postseason. Díaz also batted fourth (34) more times than anyone else on the team.
Aranda, an All-Star in 2025, hit .274 with 22 homers, 92 RBIs and a .358 OBP. He’s usually in the two-hole in the lineup.
They’re the fixtures.
Ryan Vilade and Victor Mesa Jr. platoon in right field. Jonny DeLuca and Cedric Mullins shared center field in the regular season with DeLuca starting all six games in the ALCS.
Vilade bounced around with five organizations before the Rays acquired him last November. He had one homer in 64 at-bats but made the most of his opportunity to play in Tampa Bay. The right-handed hitting Vilade hit .245 with 11 homers and 43 RBIs in 245 at-bats.
He went deep off Max Fried at Yankee Stadium in Game 3 of the AL Division Series, helping the Rays sweep New York.
“Just being able to look back and like last year, I was in (Triple-A) Memphis and sleeping on an Amazon or a Walmart bed, and this year I’m here and get to go to the ALCS and compete with my guys,” Vilade said. “That’s just the Lord’s plan, and I’m grateful for it.”
Mesa was designated for assignment by Miami in February so the Rays made a trade to get him. The rookie batted .260 with 14 homers and 34 RBIs in only 235 at-bats. He bats throughout the lineup, including cleanup behind Caminero sometimes. Mesa hit a go-ahead, tiebreaking two-run homer off Fried in the ALDS clincher.
“When I first started with the Rays, I wasn’t hitting anything,” Mesa said through an interpreter. “I wasn’t getting any single base hits. I wasn’t getting on base at all. Things started to warm up for me.”
DeLuca (.266, 11, 50) played all over the outfield in the regular season but has taken over center in the postseason from Mullins (.205, 15, 48) .
Shortstop Taylor Walls batted .222 but he’s a slick fielder who finished third in the majors with 21 defensive runs saved. Second baseman Richie Palacios hit .235 with 10 homers and 57 RBIs in 345 at-bats. He had a big hit in the ALCS clincher, a two-run double that opened the scoring.
Catcher Liam Hicks, who was acquired at the trade deadline, has been an important addition to Tampa Bay’s lineup. He hit .288 with four homers and 20 RBIs in 41 games, batting mostly in the cleanup spot.
“We’re a bunch of dogs,” Vilade said. “We are going to go out there. We don’t care who’s on the other side. We’re going to go out and compete and do our thing and be ourselves and not try to do too much and play for one another. And I think that’s what makes us special.”
Four more wins makes them champions – the first in the 29-year history of the Rays.
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