Baseball

The Rays want to make recently upgraded Steinbrenner Field a home away from home. But there's a lot of work to do in the five days between the end of spring training and Tampa Bay's regular-season opener.

On this episode of "Florida Matters," we talk about the history of spring training in the region and visit one of the major league teams that come here for get ready for regular season: the Baltimore Orioles.

The state's spring training sites come alive once again. And Rays fans get a brief respite from stadium talk while the team preps for an entire season played outdoors in Tampa.

UT was trailing defending champ Angelo State 3-1 before a six run sixth inning rally — the first time they trailed during the double-elimination tournament.

Tampa Bay hosts Toronto, and the Trop is sold out for Game 1 of 162. Can the Rays reach the postseason for the sixth straight season? Typically, the experts aren't sure, but no one is calling them an underdog, either.

It’s hard to overstate the effect Negro League baseball had on South Florida and America. The makers of the new WLRN-TV documentary Never Drop the Ball tell us how the league and its players changed the sport, and the country, forever.

Wander Franco appeared before prosecutors Monday while accompanied by two lawyers, days after not showing up for a meeting with a Dominican Republic prosecutor.

The Rays are back in the postseason for the fifth straight year. Tickets are available for the three-game series in St. Petersburg. First pitch for Game 1 is at 3:08 p.m., and ABC will telecast the games.

Authorities in the shortstop's native Dominican Republic are looking into allegations that the All-Star had a relationship with a minor. He likely won't play again this season.

Tampa Bay’s 13-0 record matched the 1982 Atlanta Braves and 1987 Milwaukee Brewers, trailing only the 20-0 start by the 1884 St. Louis Maroons of the Union Association.

Tampa Bay's silver-anniversary season begins Thursday afternoon. If you're going to the Trop this year, here are some high-tech additions for fans to go along with new food and beverage options.

Ronnie Gajownik, a former softball player at USF, will manage the Hillsboro Hops, a High Class-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.