Monday, September 28

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ST. LOUIS -- Junior Caminero’s goals are different this year.

Last spring, entering his first full season in the Majors on the heels of an electrifying viral moment in the Dominican Winter League, Caminero made it clear he hoped to hit 30 home runs. 

He wound up hitting 45. And driving in 110 runs. And being an All-Star. And finishing second in the Home Run Derby. And dramatically improving defensively at third base. And getting down-ballot American League MVP votes. And emerging as the face of Tampa Bay’s franchise.

This year, aside from aiming to become a Gold Glove defender at the hot corner, he’s not setting those sorts of expectations for himself.

"Continue to play hard. The only thing I say [is], ‘God, help me stay healthy, please, all year,” Caminero said Wednesday afternoon at Busch Stadium. “If I want to help my team, I’ve got to go to cross the line, give my best 110% every day.”

What Caminero did last season, combined with how he stole the spotlight for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, will undoubtedly raise the expectations for him this year. He is no longer a small-market secret, a former top prospect who made good on his potential. He is one of the game’s preeminent power hitters, a staple in the heart of the Rays' lineup.

But his bosses aren’t going to change their perspective.

"Who knows where this season is going to go?” manager Kevin Cash said. “I'm not going to put expectations or goals [on him]. Just go be yourself and the rest will take care of it.”

"To me, success for him is just continuing to accelerate that feedback loop where it's not him going home for months in order to take what he learned and take the next step forward,” added president of baseball operations Erik Neander. “It is just that rapid application of what he learns -- as fast as probably any player that I could think of in recent memory -- and let that take him wherever it takes him.”

Although he committed a pair of errors in the Rays’ Opening Day loss to the Cardinals, Caminero showed signs of that in his first game of the season.

If you’re looking for areas where Caminero can improve upon last season, plate discipline would be one place to start. He swings hard, and he swings a lot. He can hit almost anything, and his bat speed is so elite that he can hit anything with authority. But that led to a 32.2% chase rate, a 6.3% walk rate and a .311 on-base percentage.

On Thursday, the Cardinals didn’t give Caminero many pitches to hit. (Can you blame them?) But he rarely expanded his strike zone, and he wound up with four walks, a single and a strikeout. The four walks were a career-high mark, as many as he drew last July and one more than he worked last May.

"Very proud and impressed by Cami,” Cash said afterward, praising his "tremendous” at-bats.

And there is another area of Caminero’s rapid development that might go unnoticed, but not by everyone in Tampa Bay’s clubhouse. Despite being only 22 years old, literally the youngest player on the Rays’ Opening Day roster, he is emerging as something of a leader.

“What Cami does on the field is pretty spectacular,” Cash said. “What he does in the clubhouse is pretty spectacular.”

According to Caminero, that comes naturally. He said he views his teammates as family, understanding that they all need to rely on each other to be successful. And he earned the respect of his peers, including the veterans, with the way he handled last season. Not just the success on the field, but the hype surrounding it.

Some might have bristled at all the attention he got, but it was hard to find fault in his work ethic or the genuine passion and enthusiasm he showed for his teammates. When someone does something well, like Chandler Simpson hitting a Spring Training home run over the fence, Caminero is the first one to congratulate him.

"He's an exceptional teammate that really cares about the group beyond him as much as he does anything about himself,” Neander said.

Caminero said he learned a few things about that kind of leadership from Albert Pujols, his manager in winter ball and in the WBC.

"If you say, ‘I wanna be a leader with the team,’ you've got to make everything the right thing. Not perfect, but we try to be perfect with everything, because everybody sees you,” he said. “That's why I work a lot with my defense, my body, hitting. I try to bring the best … [as an] example for the guys.”

• For all the Rays did well on Opening Day, one bad inning by the bullpen cost them. Read more>>

• Wondering where and how to watch the Rays this season? Read more>>

• The Rays had to deploy some unexpected backup plans as they finalized their Opening Day roster. Read more>>

• Shane McClanahan survived a scare in his final live BP before his return to the rotation. Read more>>

Opening Day is special for any player, coach or fan, but Thursday was particularly significant for six Rays players who were part of an Opening Day roster for the first time in their careers: Hunter Feduccia, Ian Seymour, Simpson, Ryan Vilade, Carson Williams and Ben Williamson. 

They’ve all spent time in the Majors, but each one acknowledged it was especially meaningful to stand on the third-base line during Thursday’s pregame festivities at Busch Stadium.

And don’t forget: It was the official beginning of a new era for the Rays, the first game under the new ownership group. Managing partner Patrick Zalupski, co-chair Bill Cosgrove, CEO Ken Babby and other members of the group were in attendance.

The Rays announced a new promotion called “First One’s On Us.” Any fan who purchases a ticket to any Rays home game in April will receive $10 per ticket in virtual “Burst Bucks” to spend on concessions or merchandise at Tropicana Field.

"On behalf of our new ownership group and this exciting new moment for our franchise, we really wanted to do something special for the community to welcome them back to Tropicana Field and reward the resilience they’ve shown over the past 18 months,” Babby said in a statement. “This is our way of saying thank you.”

For more information, visit RaysBaseball.com/First.

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