LOS ANGELES — When Nathan Eovaldi joined the Boston Red Sox this summer, his old team was a source of curiosity in his new clubhouse. Eovaldi had pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays, baseball’s most innovative think tank. The Rays did not reach the playoffs, but their surprise 90-win season commanded attention.
“When I got traded over here, that was some of the questions I was asked: ‘Why are the Rays so good? What are they doing over there to be so successful?’” Eovaldi said on Friday before Game 3 of the World Series. “And it starts with the management.