Stuart Sternberg, the owner of the Tampa Bay Rays, recently received approval from the city of St. Petersburg to look for a new stadium in the area. Following Buster Olney's protest of the Hall of Fame voting rules, the Baseball Writers' Association of America has made a change to the process.
Sternberg now has the opportunity to evaluate sites for a new location for the Rays' home in Hillsborough County, which is on the east side of Tampa Bay. He spoke with Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times on Tuesday about the potential move and how it may affect the team. The Rays were dead last in attendance over the past three seasons and were 29th in 2011, which has prompted Sternberg to make a change.
"I think baseball can still flourish down here and I'm looking for the opportunity to make that happen,'' Sternberg told Topkin. "We need to get the building and the location pinpoint perfect for that to happen.''
However, a stadium site needs to be determined, an agreement needs to be reached and a deal must be put in place for this to happen. The lease on Tropicana Field ends in 2027, but Sternberg does not want to wait that long to find a new home for the Rays. It's already been a rough year for them after losing starting pitcher David Price, manager Joe Maddon and bench coach Dave Martinez. Now, something more drastic could even occur.
"I'm not leaving. I'm not moving this team. I'm not taking this team out of the area. But that's me,'' Sternberg added. "The chances of me owning this team in 2023 if we don't have a new stadium are probably nil. Somebody else will take it and move it. It's not a threat, just the reality. I won't be sitting here 10 years from now waiting it out to move the team.''
No wonder there was speculation of the Rays moving to Montreal earlier this season.
Changes are coming to baseball's Hall of Fame voting as well. Just a few days after ESPN's Buster Olney said he would be withholding his vote this year (along with Lynn Henning of The Detroit News), the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) made a slight change that might incline Olney and other disgruntled voters to continue participating in the process. On Tuesday it was made known the BBWAA voted to "recommend" that the Hall of Fame ballot increases from 10 players to 12.
However, this might not make much of a difference. Olney noted in his article:
"The list of serious candidates grew well beyond 10 spots. Last year I counted 17 players I thought were Hall of Fame-worthy, from Greg Maddux to Tom Glavine to Craig Biggio. But because of the Rule of 10, I had to leave off seven players who I believe are of Hall of Fame caliber."
We'll see if the voting amendment (or recommendation) will change Olney's mind.
