It was the start of the new Millennium. Y2K came and went without the collapse of all things internet. Moviegoers were Remembering the Titans while Beyonce and Jay-Z were Crazy in Love.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays now had two years of major league experience under their belts. They still hadn’t achieved a winning season though and as the novelty of Tampa Bay baseball wore off, attendance started dwindle towards the end of their 1999 campaign.
Team ownership wanted to spice things up and reignite fan interest, so the 1999 Winter Meetings, the Devil Rays made a couple of huge splashes.