Tampa Bay Rays with the Most All-Star Appearances

For several years the Tampa Bay Rays were the worst team in baseball and were constantly criticized and heckled. The last couple of seasons Tampa Bay has turned it around with a couple of playoff appearances. Over the years the Rays have produced many All-Star players that have helped them transform into a team that is finally competing in the very tough American League East.

Due to the Rays' short history (and even shorter success) there are many Tampa Bay players with just one All-Star appearance each. Can you name the very first Tampa Bay Rays All-Star? In 1998 the Rays first All-Star appearance went to Rolando Arrojo. Arrojo had a career record of 40 - 42 and career ERA of 4.55 but in 1998, his rookie season, Arrojo went 14 - 12 with a 3.56 ERA. Those numbers are not mind blowing but the next best Rays starter was just 6 - 15 with a 4.12 ERA.

In the earlier years of the Rays' history they were constantly bringing in veteran designated hitters and by veterans I mean washed out. In 1999 Jose Canseco was the Tampa Bay representative in the All-Star game. In 2000 the Rays rented Fred McGriff and he went to the All-Star game. In 2001 Greg Vaughn was part of their rotating All-Star designated hitters.

Of course in the early days many Tampa Bay Rays were being selected because of the All-Star rule that one player from every team must be included. This may be most obvious in 2003 when Lance Carter was selected. Carter was a 7 - 5 pitcher with a 4.33 that only lasted six years in the league. Other Rays that made the All-Star team with less than stellar seasons include Randy Winn in 2002, Roberto Hernandez in 1999, Danys Baez in 2005 and Dioner Navarro in 2008.

One-time All Stars from the Tampa Bay Rays that deserved their appearance include Jason Bartlett, who batted .320 in 2009, Ben Zobrist, who had 91 runs and 91 RBI in 2009, Carlos Pena, who led the American League with 39 home runs in 2009 and David Price, who made his first All-Star appearance in 2010 during a 19 - 6 season.

There have been some well deserving All-Stars come from Tampa Bay though. There have been three players show their worth enough to make multiple All-Star teams. Scott Kazmir is a two-time All-Star. By looking at his 2006 record of 10 - 8 some might think he was undeserving but his 3.24 ERA was one of the best in the league and he averaged 10 strikeouts per nine innings. Kazmir's only other All-Star appearance came in 2008 despite the fact that 2007 was his best season.

Evan Longoria is already second in team history in All-Star appearances and will have a great opportunity to be the team leader in a few years. In his first three seasons Longoria is batting .283 and is averaging 27 home runs and 100 RBI per season.

Evan Longoria will have a chance to become the Rays' leader in All-Star appearances because their current leader, Carl Crawford, decided this offseason to leave Tampa and join the Boston Red Sox. Carl Crawford's first All-Star appearance came in 2004 when he lead the American League with 59 steals while batting .296. In 2007 Crawford led the league in steals again and was named an All-Star once again but this time he also batted .315. Crawford's third All-Star nomination came in a season when he had a career high 60 stolen bases and batted .305. Finally Crawford got his last All-Star selection as a Ray with a career high in home runs (19), RBI (90) and runs (110).