Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

The Grapefruit Gal and I were fortunate to attend the Rays’ home opener against the Mariners last week from field-level seats, and as announced back in February, recent Bucs retiree Mike Alstott threw out the first pitch. Curiously, he was joined by an unannounced guest: Governor Charlie Crist, who also threw out the first pitch at last year’s home opener.

Certainly I’m not arguing the Gov was stealing the spotlight from one of Tampa Bay’s most popular athletes, especially being one of St. Pete’s native sons, but I noticed a peculiarity in the Rays’ treatment of their two guests that really stood out.

The Rays traditionally supply the honored first-pitch guest with a customized uniform featuring their name and some kind of relevant number. For Alstott, that meant his instantly-recognizable #40. Rays slugger Jonny Gomes caught for Alstott, and honored the tough-nosed running back by wearing an Alstott Bucs jersey. Yet the Rays skimped on Alstott’s jersey, giving him a cheap “replica” Rays shirt instead of the more expensive “authentic” ones like the players on the field wear. Note the lack of a ray patch on his sleeve and the cheap replica-style letters and numbers on the back.

Meanwhile, check out the jersey the Rays supplied Governor Crist with. It’s a legitimate authentic one, complete with Ray patch and authentic nameplate and numbers.

(Note to the Gov: tucking a jersey into your jeans makes you look like a dork. Plus, it shows off your fish-themed belt, which is also dorky.)

So why did the Governor get to share the spotlight with the A-Train? Why did he get a nicer jersey? I’m sure it has nothing to do with Rays ownership depending on his support for their new waterfront stadium plans. And what’s with his number? 12? I can’t see any immediate significance to the number, unless it’s a clever early promotion for a ‘12 presidential run.

Then again, this picture from last year’s opening day shows Crist sporting a #12 jersey yet again. (And that hideous fish-belt.) So what is it?

(Check out my full Flickr stream from opening day here.)