Sunday, September 27

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ST. PETERSBURG -- The Rays had just finished running wild against the Yankees on Sunday afternoon when Chandler Simpson stood up from the chair in front of his locker at Tropicana Field. As well as the Rays played their game in their first three-game sweep of the Yankees in five years, what really stood out was how well they played his game.

Putting the ball in play. Dropping bunts. Putting pressure on the defense. Speed, speed, speed.

“I love everybody following suit,” Simpson said, grinning.

Simpson led the lineup from atop the order in Friday and Sunday’s victories, and he played a huge role off the bench as the Rays won Saturday’s 10-inning thriller. Take it from Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who was on the wrong end of The Chandler Simpson Experience all weekend.

“He was a thorn for us, no question about it,” Boone said after Sunday’s finale. “He's definitely a guy you want to keep off the bases, but he put together a really good series.”

Simpson’s speed was no secret when he arrived in the Majors almost exactly a year ago. It’s hard to keep that quiet when you steal 94 bases in the Minors one year and 104 the next. And Simpson put his wheels to good use as a rookie last season, stealing 44 bases in 109 games. When he was on base, he turned heads and made his presence felt.

But there were flaws in his game. He hit .295, but with a .326 on-base percentage and little extra-base power to speak of, so his OPS was just .671. He was caught stealing 12 times. And his defense, known to be a work in progress, graded out poorly.

What we’re seeing now is a more fully formed version of the left-handed-hitting speedster, who has been arguably Tampa Bay’s best player 15 games into the season.

He finished the Rays’ first homestand back at the Trop batting .411 with two triples, four RBIs, seven steals, three walks and only three strikeouts in 59 plate appearances. He’s still learning left field, which leads to the occasional misplay, but he has already recorded three Outs Above Average, according to Statcast.

“Nobody questions his desire to get better, the way he works,” manager Kevin Cash said. “(On Saturday), he wasn't in the starting lineup. He's out shagging all BP full speed. And (he has) really taken every bit of information that he can handle and (is) trying to make himself the most complete player that he possibly can.”

Entering Tuesday’s series opener against the White Sox, Simpson owned the Majors’ second-highest batting average, behind only the Dodgers’ Andy Pages (.417). Simpson’s seven steals were tied for second-most in the Majors behind Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. 

Simpson reached base safely in each of Tampa Bay’s first 15 games, joining Evan Longoria (20 straight to begin 2013), Jorge Cantú (20 in 2005) and Tommy Pham (15 in 2019) as the only players in franchise history to do so.

Simpson hasn’t changed his game in any significant way to produce those statistics. He’s still generating exit velocities, barrel rates and bat speed readings that would make many modern hitting analysts shield their eyes. Look at his spray chart on Baseball Savant, and you’ll find more dots representing hits in the infield than in the outfield.

But he’s rarely swinging and missing, with a 9.4% whiff rate that ranks fifth among qualified hitters. He’s making contact and finding holes in the defense, “Little Tony Gwynn” style. He’s embraced bunting as a weapon. Every once in a while, he’ll turn on a ball and pull it into the right-field corner.

His legs take care of the rest, whether it’s an infield single or a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it triple. Nobody gets from the batter’s box to first base faster than him, according to Statcast, and nobody in the Majors has come close to reaching an elite sprint speed (30 feet per second) as often as him.

And when he gets on base, he’s a delight for his teammates and fans to watch and an absolute pain for opponents to deal with. He enjoys wreaking havoc in that way. Even when he’s at the plate, the knowledge that a routine grounder could turn into something more can get in defenders’ heads.

“It's easy to see. Any ball that's not hit right at an outfielder feels like a triple, at least. If he gets on first, he’s on third in five pitches,” said shortstop Taylor Walls, who got in on the bunting-and-speed action over the weekend, too. “Then there's no contact play -- they might as well play back. It feels like a popup to the deep infield is going to be an RBI flyball. 

“His impact with his legs, I don't think people realize how much pressure it puts on a defense to be perfect. I mean, you have to be perfect -- and even sometimes perfect is not good enough.”

In other words, Simpson is being himself. And there aren’t many players like him.

“I just feel like I'm just committed to my plan every time I'm at the plate,” he said. “Just knowing who I am, honestly. Continue to stay present in the moment and -- just knowing what my skill-set (is), what I'm trying to do -- never try to do too much at all. Just trying to get on base.”

•  After a hectic, emotional week, Drew Rasmussen took the mound and did what he always does. Read more>>

• Joe Boyle is on the IL, and the Rays are shuffling their rotation plans. Read more>>

• A lineup switch-up put Yandy Díaz in the cleanup spot Friday night, and he cleaned up an early mess with a big home run. Read more>>

• A memorandum of understanding revealed more information about the Rays’ proposed new ballpark plans. Read more>>

With his walk-off homer to beat the Yankees in 10 innings last April 19 at George M. Steinbrenner Field and his walk-off fielder’s choice to end Saturday’s thriller, Jonathan Aranda became the first player in Rays history with multiple walk-off plate appearances against the Yankees.

In fact, Aranda is only the fourth player in the Wild Card era (since 1995) with multiple career extra-inning, walk-off plate appearances against the Yankees, joining Nelson Cruz, Tommy Pham and Vernon Wells.

The Rays will be back at the Trop next week to host the Reds and Twins. Their April 25 game against the Twins will feature another promotional giveaway item for the first 10,000 fans: a “Tropicana Field Tour” T-shirt, celebrating the Rays’ return to their home dome. Tickets are available here.

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