John Romano: The World Series was a bust, but this season was a gift in Tampa Bay

TAMPA, Fla. — The final out has been recorded, and the better team is dancing toward history.

Any minute now, they’ll turn off the scoreboard and lights at Tropicana Field. The disco ball in the Tampa Bay Rays clubhouse will remain joyless and dark, and the players will soon share hugs and muted jokes on their way out the door.

This is how a season ends for a World Series runner-up. Cruelly, and without rings or recompense.

And yet, even after a 4-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 5 on Wednesday night, this is not a night for tears or regret. Sadness, yes. Disappointment, sure.

But not regret. Not for these Rays.

To allow four losses in October to ruin your memories of a season both magical and improbable would be a sin.

For this season was a gift. An unexpected gift, and it should not be forsaken simply because it failed to end in perfection.

The Rays began this year as 80-to-1 long-shots to win the World Series. According to sportsoddshistory.com, that would have made them the most unlikely team to win it all since the Minnesota Twins 35 years ago. To put it another way, it would have been the biggest upset since Yandy Diaz was in diapers.

And after 176 games, the Rays fell only three victories short.

“It was the perseverance, the passion. Just the way they all came together,” Rays CEO Ken Babby said of the team’s bond. “They genuinely enjoy being around each other. I would see it on the road when they would plan these impromptu dinners or fishing trips or outings. None of it was mandatory, but it always happened.

“You see that in the minors, but at this level it’s incredibly. It starts with Kevin (Cash) and the whole coaching staff. They choose to be together, and it always feels natural. Going all the way back to the spring, they would get together to play cards or dominos, or play golf on their off-days. It was a wonderful thing to witness.”

There was a moment, after the blowout loss in Game 3, when there was a possibility of a sour aftertaste. Between the dismal homecoming to Tropicana Field and the possibility of a four-game sweep, it would have felt like an underwhelming conclusion.

The Rays rectified that in Game 4.

Twelve innings of spellbinding baseball with the season on the line. A total of 15 pitchers and 367 pitches. Nearly 4 1/2 hours of spellbinding baseball. And when it was over, the Rays had a 4-3, 12-inning comeback victory that ranks among the most consequential games in franchise history.

So maybe Game 5 was a letdown. And maybe, if you go back and rewatch the series this winter, you will bemoan the defensive lapses, the lack of production from the top of the order and the disappointment of the starting rotation.

Yet for all that went wrong, it’s hard to argue that Milwaukee wasn’t simply the better team.

“It’s not a group that was built to overwhelm you, but they came together to play a winning style of baseball,” said president of baseball operations Erik Neander. “Everything you want in players was there, from top to bottom. There were no negative experiences.”

And so it’s important to remember how Chander Simpson endeared himself to Tampa Bay with a joyous approach to the game that recalled backyard ballgames that would last only as long as mom said they could.

It’s important to remember how a vagabond right-hander with a generous spirit like Nick Martinez could transform a clubhouse with his wisdom and selflessness.

And it’s important to remember that feeling when you saw Victor Mesa Jr. cut down a runner at third base with a laser from deep right field.

It’s important to remember it all because this was a unique group that failed to impress experts and computer models but somehow came together to win 98 games and the heart of a fanbase.

Even better, they did it in a manner that was wildly entertaining and caught a lot of people by surprise. A team at the forefront of advanced metrics, the Rays employed a decidedly old-school style of ball with lots of bunting, stealing bases and an emphasis on putting the ball in play.

This wasn’t about turning analytics on its head. The Rays were simply leaning into a roster that had good speed and bat-to-ball ability.

So is it a shame that the final week did not leave up to the rest of the season? You could make that case. You could say the Rays froze on the grand stage, or you could say they finally ran into a team that was even better at doing the little things that matter.

Either way you look at it, the Rays squeezed more out of less than anyone had a right to expect.

So remember the 2-5 start that played into everyone’s worst fear about a last-place finish in the American League East. Remember how the rotation lost Ryan Pepiot, then Steven Matz and finally Shane McClanahan. Remember how Bryan Baker was nearly perfect and Freddy Peralta was a godsend. Remember how they swept the New York Yankees in the Division Series and came from behind twice to beat the Cleveland Guardians in the League Championship Series.

Remember it all, and re-tell it often.

This wasn’t the best team the Rays have ever put on the field, but it was one of the more entertaining and endearing groups of the last two decades.

The final week of October will forever be a letdown, but it cannot erase the wonder of what you saw in the summer of 2026.

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