The Tampa Bay Rays Can't Lose & Here Are The Teams Standing In Their Way Of Making History

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 1-0 to start the season a perfect 10-0. They have been absolutely destroying teams. Before this win, they had won every game by four or more runs. RDT covered that domination here:

What I'm interested in is the teams that are in front of the Rays historically. This win tied them with the following teams who also started 10-0 before losing their 11th game:

1955 Brooklyn Dodgers

1962 Pittsburgh Pirates

1966 Cleveland Indians

The 1955 Dodgers are by far the most accomplished team on this list. They were beloved in Brooklyn after finally winning a World Series in their eighth attempt. They even beat the Yankees to do so and did so in dramatic fashion. Game 7 was a complete game shutout by 22 year old Johnny Padres. This was a team stacked with legends like Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella and teenage rookie named Sandy Koufax. That 10-0 start wasn't a fluke as they were 22-3 after 25 games.

The 1962 Pirates were a very good team that won 93 games but missed out on making the World Series because the Giants won 103. Even the Dodgers won 102 that year. The Mets going 40-120 made the league very top heavy. Despite winning the World Series two years earlier and still having Roberto Clemente, that 10-0 start got totally wiped out. After 28 games, they were 14-14.

Despite starting 10-0 (and even 14-1), the 1966 Indians were a mess. Their manager Birdie Tebbetts quit in August and the team finally finished in 5th place with a 81-81 record. They had a team based around young starting pitchers like Luis Tiant and Sudden Sam McDowell but it all fell apart and the Indians would lose 99 games by 1969.

So who is left? Who do the Rays need to catch next? There are only three teams who have started better than 10-0:

1981 Oakland A's

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This was a wild team. Billy Martin was hired by the A's before the 1980 season and basically ran the team as if every game was Game 7 of the World Series. This meant having his starting pitchers throw complete games 94 times in 1980. At first, it really worked. The 1979 A's had gone 54-108 and in 1980 they were 83-79. Martin also had his 21 year outfielder Rickey Henderson stealing 100 bases in the season.

In 1981, it was more of the same. They got off to a 11-0 start and at one point were 17-1. 1981 was the strike season so there was a long 50 day break in the middle of the season. This may have saved the A's rotation from completely falling apart. They did make the playoffs and got knocked out the ALCS. 

By 1982, it all fell apart.

The starting pitchers all got hurt or were ineffective. The offense even got worse. They went 68-94 and it would be Billy Martin's last season as manager of the A's. Rickey Henderson did set the all-time record for stolen bases in a season with 130 so that was cool at least.

1982 Atlanta Braves

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Dale Murphy is Brandon Walker's favorite player. He's not a Hall of Famer and I don't think he should be. He just got old too early. He just wasn't an effective player after he was 31. But he did have a peak and it was pretty fucking good.

Murphy won the NL MVP in both 1982 and 1983. The 1982 team managed to win 13 games in a row to start the season. They did then turn around and lose their next five but that start was good enough to win the NL West that year. They did get smacked around by the Cardinals in the NLCS but it was a nice season for a team that hadn't been to the playoffs since 1969. It would also be their last playoff team until the Braves dynasty began in 1991.

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1987 Milwaukee Brewers

Despite not making the playoffs, the 1987 season was a pretty cool one for Brewers fans. Paul Molitor had a 39 game hitting streak. Juan Nieves threw the first no hitter in franchise history. Finally, the Brewers started off 13-0 (and at one point were 17-1).

A 12 game losing streak mixed in the middle of going 2-20 wiped away that great start and at one point they were 23-21. But behind Robin Yount and Teddy Higuera, they did rally back and still won 91 games. If it was 2023 playoff rules, they would have made it to October. But as it was, they went home in 3rd place losing the division to the Detroit Tigers.

Where will this Rays streak stop at and what kind of team will they be? I lean towards them being a very good team and this streak isn't entirely a fluke. That offense won't hold up all season. They are slugging .564 as a team. I am pretty confident that 1.70 ERA won't be the number we see at the end of the year too. But the fact they are beating teams as easily as they have been is a sign this is a legit team capable of winning 95+ games this season.

As for the streak? They have three more at home against the Red Sox before heading to Toronto. They'll face Garret Whitlock tonight (hasn't had a MLB appearance this season), Chris Sale tomorrow (who has not looked good) and Corey Kluber on Thursday (who has looked almost as bad as Sale).

13 (and beyond?) is definitely in play.