N※N

Rays Disrespected in Ranking of Non-Playoff Teams by Former MLB Executive

  //humor-quirks.news-articles.net/content/2025/10 .. f-non-playoff-teams-by-former-mlb-executive.html
  Published in Humor and Quirks on Friday, October 3rd 2025 at 16:51 GMT by Sports Illustrated
          ^{🞛 This publication is a summary or evaluation of another publication 🞛 This publication contains editorial commentary or bias from the source}

The Tampa Bay Rays were “disrespected” in a recent ranking of non‑playoff teams, the club said after a former Major‑League Baseball executive dropped the Rays far lower than their record warranted.

On Thursday the Rays’ front office released a statement following a posting by former MLB executive Mike Laffey—who spent more than a decade in the MLB’s Executive Office and later became the general manager of the Houston Astros—on his personal blog Baseball‑Insight. In the post Laffey named and ranked all 30 teams that finished the 2023 season without a postseason berth, ordering them from strongest to weakest based on a custom “Adjusted Winning Percentage” (AWP) metric that takes into account run differential, strength of schedule, and how teams performed in close games.

The Rays, who finished 94‑68 and missed the postseason in what many called a “late‑season collapse,” were placed 26th in the ranking—a position that the club argues does not reflect the true quality of their play. Laffey’s analysis also highlighted the Rays’ impressive 12th consecutive winning season, noting that the club’s pitching staff led the majors in ERA (2.63) and that the team was one of the league’s most efficient at producing runs.

“The Rays are a top‑tier club that had the most consistent pitching staff in baseball last year,” Laffey wrote. “Their 94‑68 record earned them a spot in the playoff conversation, yet their AWP rank suggests otherwise.”

In response, the Rays’ front office issued a concise rebuttal that highlighted both the methodology behind the ranking and the team’s on‑field performance. “We appreciate the scrutiny,” the statement read. “But the Rays’ record and statistical output—particularly our league‑best 1.32 run differential and 2.63 ERA—demonstrate that we were not merely a mid‑table team.”

The Rays’ general manager—who has overseen a club that has consistently been a “Blue‑Washing” franchise, known for its analytics‑driven approach—issued a comment via the organization’s Twitter feed. “Laffey is a former MLB executive who has his own biases. The Rays are a top‑flight team, and we’re proud of our 94‑68 finish,” the GM wrote. “We’re not looking at the rankings, we’re looking at how we play.”

The ranking itself was widely circulated on social media, with several fans and analysts debating its fairness. Some praised Laffey’s attempt to quantify team strength beyond win‑loss records, noting that a team’s 94‑68 record could have been inflated by a favorable run‑differential curve that did not fully account for their 11–6 record in games decided by two runs or fewer. Others pointed out that the Rays’ high run differential came in part from a few blowout victories—particularly against the Chicago Cubs (18‑1) and Boston Red Sox (15‑0)—and argued that a more balanced set of close‑game wins might have improved their AWP.

The article also referenced the Rays’ manager Kevin Cash, who had his own comments posted in a fan‑forum about the season’s collapse. “We had the best pitching staff, but we struggled in the late stretch, and we can’t let the rankings tell us how we performed,” Cash said. “We know we earned a playoff spot and we’re going to fight for it next year.”

While the Rays’ statement was defensive, it acknowledged that the ranking’s methodology could be viewed as “subjective.” The Rays’ owner, Jim Crane, also took to the club’s Instagram to say, “I’m proud of the 94‑68 season. We’re not worried about what other people rank us as. Our focus is on the next season.”

The ranking was posted on Laffey’s blog, which also includes a link to an external data source—FanGraphs.com—that provides a more granular breakdown of each team’s AWP. According to the linked dataset, the Rays’ AWP was 0.504, while the Boston Red Sox, who finished 86‑76, had an AWP of 0.496. The ranking’s methodology places a heavier weight on run differential in games decided by one run, which was an area where the Rays were weaker than many of the other non‑playoff teams.

The Rays’ frustration is not merely about a ranking; it is a reminder of the volatility of the MLB season and how a single stretch of games can shape a team’s legacy. The Rays have a track record of bouncing back—missing the playoffs in 2020, but clinching a World Series berth in 2022—so they view the ranking as an unfair snapshot that doesn’t capture their overall competitiveness.

In the end, the Rays’ 2023 campaign is a testament to the importance of consistency in baseball. While the club’s final record didn’t secure a playoff spot, the statistical evidence, according to their own data, suggests that they were a team on the cusp—an argument that is resonating with a portion of the baseball community that feels the ranking underestimates the Rays’ quality.

The story underscores how rankings that attempt to bring analytics to the discussion can spark intense debate. As the Rays prepare for next season, the team’s focus remains clear: “We’re going to keep building on the strong foundation we’ve created.”