Throughout the Rays turnaround from perennial dwellers in the American League East cellar to the dominant powerhouse of the late 2010's, they have been underdogs with their back against the wall and all but forgotten (with the exception of 2010).
In 2008, they came back from a seven game losing steak heading into the all-star break, Jason Bay being snatched away by the dreaded Red Sox, and a late season injury to Evan Longoria to make it to the world series. In 2010, the Rays had their potentially best team ever, but unfortunalley made an ill-fated decision to stand pat at the trade deadline.