Tropicana Field Gets Welcoming Ground Rule Changes

On Monday, the Tampa Bay Rays received some news from Major League Baseball that there will be some significant changes that will be made to its ground rules. Prior to Monday, any ball that hit any of the uppermost catwalks at Tropicana Field were live balls which meant that a routine fly ball could result in a single, double, triple, or even an inside the park homerun because of the uncertainty of the catwalks. But on Monday, this ground rule that has haunted Tropicana Field finally changed. The new rule states that any ball that hits the upper most catwalks, the A or B rings, any light or suspended object in fair territory, will be a dead ball and the pitch will not count. This rule should have been in effect since 1998 when the Devil Rays took the field for the first time, but it was a rule thirteen seasons in the making. On August 5^th, with the Rays tied with the Minnesota Twins, Jason Kubel hit a towering pop fly that struck catwalk A and dropped for a base hit which scored the winning run for the Twins. The game dropped the Rays out of first place as the New York Yankees took over the tope spot in the American League East. Following the Loss, Joe Maddon, Ray’s Manager, said that this is a prime example of why the Rays need a new ballpark since their home field is supposed to help them win games not lose them. Along with this rule change, any ball that hits the C or D catwalk rings in fair territory will be an automatic homerun which is similar to the old ground rule at the Trop. This ground rule change will benefit the Rays as they pursue their second American League championship with home field advantage in the AL side of the playoffs.