The champagne had not started flying when Kevin Cash pulled Yandy Díaz into the middle of the Rays’ clubhouse at Tropicana Field, but the message was already clear: Tampa Bay had earned the American League pennant, and it was not finished yet. After Monday night’s 7-3 Game 6 victory over the Guardians, Cash held up one finger and told his players there was one more bite waiting — beginning with a flight to Milwaukee for the World Series.
A pennant clinched at the Trop
The Rays reached the World Series for the third time in franchise history by erasing Cleveland’s 2-1 ALCS advantage with three consecutive victories. It is Tampa Bay’s first trip to the Fall Classic since the pandemic-era 2020 postseason, when the club secured its World Series berth in San Diego.
This one landed differently. Eighteen years after their previous pennant celebration at Tropicana Field, the Rays got to clinch before a sold-out home crowd of 40,230 in the rebuilt dome. The stands remained packed after the final out, and the noise carried well into the postgame ceremony.
- Tampa Bay finished with the American League’s best record and entered the playoffs as the league’s No. 1 seed.
- The Rays were the first AL club to lock down a postseason berth.
- They captured the division at Yankee Stadium, then swept the Yankees in the AL Division Series.
- Cleveland took a 2-1 lead in the ALCS before Tampa Bay ran off three straight wins.
- World Series Game 1 is scheduled for Friday at 8 p.m. ET in Milwaukee.
For Cash, the sound in the building was a reminder of what awaits when the Series shifts back to St. Petersburg. He said the crowd for Division Series Game 1 had been the loudest he had heard, but Monday’s audience may have topped it. He is eager to hear what the building can bring for Games 3, 4 and 5.
A season that kept building
President of baseball operations Erik Neander saw Monday’s celebration as more than the payoff for a dominant season. With the stadium situation resolved and a new home environment taking shape, he said the club’s success has added momentum for the franchise, its fans and the surrounding community.
The Rays have been celebrating for much of the last six weeks, but the ALCS clincher felt like a larger marker. Tampa Bay had spent almost the entire season in first place in the American League, then backed up that work in October.
Managing partner Patrick Zalupski, whose ownership group took control roughly 13 months ago, called the home clincher especially meaningful. The division-clinching trips to New York were enjoyable, he said, but nothing matched closing out a pennant in front of the Tampa Bay crowd. He pushed back hard on the familiar criticism of the market’s attendance, saying the volume inside the Trop was as loud as any baseball game he had experienced.
Caminero carries the Tampa message
Junior Caminero was in motion from the instant the game ended. The All-Star third baseman dropped to his knees, looked skyward, then ended up carrying an oversized Rays flag toward the stands. With “All I Do Is Win” filling the dome, he tried to plant the flag in the turf.
It was another visible chapter in a postseason run that has repeatedly pointed back toward the city. After his walk-off homer secured Tampa Bay’s playoff spot, Caminero grabbed a microphone and delivered the same message he repeated after the pennant clincher: “Tampa! This is for you!”
That connection has mattered to a community that was unable to watch baseball inside the Trop last year and now has a club preparing to host World Series games there. Caminero summed up the mood simply, saying the ceiling is high for the group and that he was thrilled for his teammates.
Steaks, cigars and one more goal
Once the on-field presentation above second base was complete, players spent time with their families before returning to the clubhouse. Then the room became the familiar October scene: champagne and beer sprayed in every direction, cigars, dancing and another round of tomahawk steaks.
Díaz had one of those steaks in hand when Cash called to him. The Rays’ skipper spoke of getting one final bite, a line that fit a team looking beyond the AL trophy toward four more wins.
Shane McClanahan, among the small group of players still around from the 2020 World Series club, put the chemistry in clubhouse terms. He called it “the power of friendship,” saying the players pull for one another, love one another and spend time together away from the field.
Now the Rays carry that bond out of St. Petersburg and into the World Series. The Trop has already delivered a pennant night; next week, it is set to welcome October baseball on the sport’s biggest stage.
