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The First-Place Tampa Bay Rays Are the Epitome of Modern Baseball

Welcome to The Opener, where every weekday morning you’ll get a fresh, topical column to start your day from one of SI.com’s MLB writers.

The Rays are not atop baseball’s leaderboards for either offense (fourth in baseball by OPS+) or pitching (12th in ERA+). None of their individual players stand out as likely award candidates. As a group, they are not leaders in other major statistical categories, either; they’re neither proficient sluggers at the plate nor are they strikeout artists on the mound.

But the Rays boast the best record in baseball.

With their 3-1 victory over the Yankees on Monday, they have now won 16 of their last 17, taking them from a .