“Ya Gotta Believe” is one of my favorite moments of being a fan, its what baseball is about.  Its when it crosses from just a sport to some sort of religion.  Though I don’t see Tug McGraw, the coiner of that great phrase, as any kind of zealot, I do think he captured what it means to be a fan right there.  Those that shun their team in the final weeks even with playoff berth chances still alive, well they aren’t the faithful.  Those that believe, even to the last day, well, they get the magic of baseball.

For players, I think it is similar but not quite the same.  I have spoken with many former players as well as a quite a few who work in baseball who never quite made it to the show.  All agree that when you get to this level, often the difference between the guy that succeeds and the guy who doesn’t is their level of belief or doubt in themselves.  But, I remember watching the 1990 Reds sweep the dynastic Oakland A’s in the World Series.  Many in the media thought it would be a sweep, but no one in the media thought it would be the Reds with the broom. In that case, it wasn’t that the Reds believed they could win, it was more that it never occurred to them that they couldn’t.  I believe a similar thing happened with the 2003 Marlins, walking into Yankee Stadium.  It never occurred to them that the Yankees with their years of playoff experience had any advantage.  Was their a curse on the Red Sox, or is their one with the Cubs?  Not a real one, but all the rumors of one just put an ounce of doubt in every ones head.  But despite David Ortiz claiming he saw “fear in [the Rays] eyes” after game 1 of the ALCS, I don’t think it has occurred to the Rays that they can’t win.  After all they have beaten the Red Sox in Fenway before, what is the difference?  If you haven’t been to the post-season, you don’t know it is different.  If your manager acts the same, and your coaches act the same, you don’t know that you are supposed to be scared of the Red Sox post-season experience.  You don’t know that these Sox have learned how to win with their backs against the wall.  And when you hit three home runs in the first inning, and the crowd gets quiet, it doesn’t feel any different. Yet here the Rays are, one game away from advancing to the World Series, and you have to think that doubt has crept into the mind of the Red Sox.  And the nice thing is, they look like they might be set up for a few more years of a playoff run, too.  They are young enough and deep enough that injuries shouldn’t be a huge factor for a couple of years.  And then there is the fact that they have the lowest payroll in baseball.  With the money made from the post-season games, especially if this goes back to Tampa, the team should be in the position to add some pieces at the playoff deadline that will fill any holes they may have next year. The Rays may be the feel good story of the season. They may remind each of us to have faith, that we may be down on our luck, but if we keep plugging away we will, eventually be on top. The Rays could still lose this series.  There are plenty of stories out there reminding us that the Sox came back against the Yankees down 3-0, and against the Indians down 3-1, but the great thing about coming from last to first, is even if you lose, you still have gained so much.  But I think that doubt that you see in the eyes of the Red Sox, the doubt created by a 13-4 thumping at Fenway is enough to give that last game to the Rays.  And when a team like that makes it the World Series, even if it isn’t our team, doesn’t that give us all something to root for? Sure, I know Philly, Dodger and Red Sox fans everywhere are rolling their eyes at this. It doesn’t matter.  There is no greater underdog story this year than  that of the Rays.  If they can do it, so can I.