Sports
B.J. Upton, Former Rays Centerfielder, Says Rays Need To Stay In Tampa Bay
Fans want Rays to stay in Tampa area to continue its Major League Baseball success as the Rays lead Red Sox 1-0 in 2021 ALDS series.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — B.J. Upton, a former Tampa Bay Rays centerfielder who retired in 2016, is no fan of team majority owner Stu Sternberg's split-season plan that would have Montreal and Florida share home games.
Upton, like many Tampa Bay residents, wants the Rays to stay based in the St. Petersburg-Tampa area. He said he will do whatever he can to make it happen, including start a petition.
His first tweet in months said, "Stu needs to sell," as the Rays played the Red Sox at the Tropicana Field.
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He later tweeted during game one of the American League Division Series, "As he tried to use the playoffs as a bullsh-- plan."
In between the regular season and the playoffs, Sternberg said the team would hang a sign in Tropicana Field to promote a future split-season between Montreal and Tampa Bay following the 2027 season when their lease is up. The sign would have been placed in the far right-field territory.
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Fans responded with shock that Sternberg chose the playoffs that would likely put a damper on audience's energy during the playoffs.
The Rays shut out the Red Sox in game 1 Thursday night, 5-0. Randy Arozarena made MLB post season history in the game by being the only player to hit a home run and steal home in the same game, according to Statistics Inc.
"Y’all wanna start a petition…I’m down, we worked too hard to build this and he wants to walk out on a city," Upton tweeted.
Y’all wanna start a petition…I’m down, we worked too hard to build this and he wants to walk out on a city
— BJ Upton (@MelvinUptonJr) October 8, 2021
Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, recently told the Tampa Bay Times that "a Rays representative spoke to him about a month ago about an unspecified stadium site in Ybor and the likelihood that state aid would be needed for infrastructure costs. The team has yet to make a formal funding request."
President Brian Auld told the outlet that the construction of a smaller ballpark in Hillsborough County would probably cost about $500 million. A Montreal stadium would cost about the same.
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