Nobody Expected the Rays to Be Here, but They're Four Wins From the World Series

I think it's worth taking a moment to appreciate just how much the Tampa Bay Rays have accomplished this season.

Because if you told me back in spring training that Tampa Bay would be four wins away from the World Series in October, I would've had plenty of questions.

And I certainly wouldn't have been alone.

There weren't many people expecting the Rays to compete for the American League East title this season. In fact, simply finishing above .500 would've been considered a pretty successful year by some.

Instead, Tampa Bay won 98 games, captured the AL East, earned the top seed in the American League, and just swept the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series.

That's quite a difference. And the doubt didn't stop once they got to the postseason either. Many ranked the Rays as a below average playoff team entering October.

The expectations for this team have certainly changed along the way. Early in the season, we were talking about the development of Junior Caminero, the health of Shane McClanahan, and whether the Rays had enough talent to compete with the Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays.

Now we're discussing who Tampa Bay might face in the ALCS after sweeping their AL East rivals and the Blue Jays never even sniffed the postseason this year.

The season has certainly been a surprise for many, but the culture that this roster has built together has been a pleasure to watch.

Following Wednesday's 4-3 victory over New York, Nick Martinez talked about how much the Rays want to continue their postseason run.

"We're loving it, man. We want to keep things going," Martinez said.

Ryan Vilade shared a similar message.

"This team is so special. We play for one another. We love each other, and we're not done. We don't want it to end."

And I think those comments tell us something about this clubhouse.

Martinez has reportedly helped organize team dinners and trivia nights throughout the season, with roughly 20 players regularly participating.

We've seen Tampa Bay win games in just about every way imaginable this year. Sometimes it's Caminero or Jonathan Aranda delivering a huge home run. Other times it's someone like Richie Palacios, Victor Mesa Jr., or Ryan Vilade stepping up as we saw in the ALDS.

And that's what makes this team so interesting as they search for their first World Series.

They've continued finding ways to win regardless of who's responsible.

But listening to the players, they're certainly not satisfied, and with Tampa Bay now just four victories away from the World Series, why should they be?