Did the Rays cheat to win against the Yankees? WFAN hosts have reasons to believe

The 2-1 series success of the current AL East leaders, the Tampa Bay Rays, against the Yankees has evoked suspicion. Craig Carton and Evan Roberts, who host a show on WFAN, accused the Tampa Bay Rays of cheating on Monday. They repeated their claim on Tuesday despite criticism from fans in Tampa.

The Rays currently lead the AL East with a record of 29-8, which puts them on track to break the MLB record with 121 wins, and they are nine games ahead of the Yankees who are in last place. Evan says their MLB record this season is not normal and something that he can believe.

Tampa Bay Rays are allegedly ‘cheating’

On Monday, the host of WFAN made a suggestion that there might be something suspicious about the AL East team’s exceptional start to the season during a rant.

“There’s something suspicious about that by the way,” Roberts said of Rays’ start, via Awful Announcing after they won against the Yankees. “All I know is I’m a baseball fan, I know baseball, I like baseball, I was very skeptical with what I saw this weekend.”

Co-host Craig Carton replied that they probably were cheating. The two are doubtful that the performances they have seen from traveling players are genuine.

Evan noticed significant differences between the past performances of the Rays’ hitters as recorded on their baseball cards and their current performances in the 2023 season. This led him to suggest the possibility of foul play. Tampa fans didn’t appreciate the accusation, but Evan maintained his stance on Tuesday.

“I’m just being honest about my curiosities about the Rays,” Evan said. “I mean, I’m just calling it like it is. I didn’t realize the entire city of Tampa would be offended. Look at all those crappy players and how they’re all having amazing years. They have a lot of guys on their team that all of a sudden are putting up crazy numbers.”

Evans questions the Rays

Evan argued that fans who are upset about the suggestion that several players on the Rays are having career years and performing at an unusually high level are not taking into account the unusual nature of the statistics. He pointed out the impressive OPS+ stats of players like Taylor Walls, Christian Bethancourt, Harold Ramirez, and Josh Lowe, and suggested that fans should at least acknowledge the peculiarity of these numbers.

Evan expressed that he was only sharing his personal viewpoint on the matter based on his observation of the Rays’ performance during the three-day game and their roster. He acknowledged that the team has some talented young players, including pitcher Shane McClanahan, who he recognizes as one of the best in the league. However, he still finds the players’ statistics and their sudden success against the Yankees to be questionable.

“You know what most of us do? We don’t know who they are so we just say the ‘Rays are brilliant.’ Here’s the problem, I know who they are. They’re not good,” Roberts continued. “The Rays are 19-3 at home? HELLOOOO. Are you gonna wake up when the article’s written in The Athletic, or are you gonna wake up now? Sometimes you don’t need evidence. Sometimes you gotta say, ‘What I’m watching doesn’t make sense.’ So I’ll do it, I’m not a Yankee fan. I’m gonna raise my hand. Hey, ladies and gentlemen, what I’m seeing in Tampa, makes no sense.”

Although he lacks evidence, Roberts is vocal about his suspicion that the Rays could be cheating similar to the scandal of Houston Astros. He references The Athletic, the outlet that initially reported on the Astros’ wrongdoing.

The Rays came back from being down 6-0 to win the final game of their series against the Yankees who are currently in last place. This victory at Tropicana Field brings the Rays’ home record to an impressive 19-3. In the game, catcher Christian Bethancourt delivered three RBIs and hit a home run, while Isaac Paredes also played a key role by contributing two RBIs, including the game-winning hit in the tenth inning.

Is something fishy going on with the Tampa Bay Rays? @EvanRobertsWFAN shares his suspicion… 🧐 pic.twitter.com/SNy0kWl6WV

— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) May 8, 2023

Are the Rays that bad?

Carton described how he perceived their roster, saying that it seemed like a group of players who are surpassing expectations based on their previous performances.

“Christian Bethancourt? HELLO. Taylor Walls? WHAT?” Roberts questioned.

It was reported that in the month of April, Bethancourt recorded a batting average of .259, which was his highest average for a month since 2016. Additionally, he hit five home runs, which was the most he has ever hit in a month in his career.

In regards to Walls, who typically has a batting average of .192 throughout his career, he hit .306 during the month of April. This year, he has hit five home runs in 80 at-bats, which is significantly more than the nine home runs he hit in his previous 559 at-bats in the major leagues.

Roberts stated that many people tend to assume that the Rays are a brilliant team because they are not familiar with them. However, he pointed out that he knows who they are and that they are not as good as people believe.

The Yankees are set to play against the Rays in a four-game series starting from Thursday in the Bronx.

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