Rays will again wear ‘Tampa Bay’ on road ‘grays’

The Tampa Bay Rays are bringing back their road “grays” and returning the words “Tampa Bay” to the front of the uniform for the first time in nearly 20 years.

The design is a modern update on the away jerseys from the Devil Rays’ expansion years of 1998 to 2000.

The Columbia blue uniform with only “Rays” lettering on the front has been shelved for road games, as promised by the new ownership group when purchasing the team last fall. Gray versions of the road uniform were taken out of the rotation in 2023.

“These uniforms celebrate our long-term commitment to Tampa Bay,” Rays CEO Ken Babby said in a prepared statement. “As our team travels the country, we do so with tremendous admiration for our home. Tampa Bay is always in our hearts, and that’s why we will wear it across our chest.”

The “grays” will debut during Game 2 of today’s doubleheader at New York’s Yankee Stadium, where Tampa Bay needs one win against the Yankees this week to clinch a division title.

Slugging stars Junior Caminero and Yandy Diaz gave the uniforms a thumbs-up during a live reveal on MLB Network on Monday. Caminero said the change was “kind of sweet” and that he was a fan of the back of the jersey, where the blue numbers and nameplate popped out.

Additional features of the new road uniforms include:

The gradient on the words “Tampa Bay” mirrors the multicolor look on the original home “Devil Rays” kit, which was brought back in 2023 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the team and became a home uniform for most Saturday games.

The cap is an update of the 1998 version, but with blue replacing some of the black swatches.

The fish has a cleaner look and was moved closer to the text and buttons, compared to the expansion version.

Unlike the originals, there is blue trim bordering the buttons and running up and around the collar, much like the current “Rays” uniform.

The design was selected with input from a social media poll in March. Participants were given a choice of four jerseys, and the throwback look was the winner.

On social media Tuesday, the Rays said, “We asked. You answered. We listened.”

The Rays haven’t worn “Tampa Bay” on a primary jersey since 2007, two years after Stuart Sternberg took control of the team from managing partner Vince Nailmoli. By then, the team had moved away from the multicolor set and was wearing a signature green, often with vest-style jerseys over undershirts.

Rick Mayer is a reporter for WUSF, the bay area’s NPR affiliate.