# 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season

The 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season was the first season in franchise history. This season, they finished last in the American League East and finished the season with a record of 63–99, 51 games behind the World Champion New York Yankees. They finished with the worst record in the American League and second worst in all of MLB, ahead of only their in-state rivals and defending World Series champion Florida Marlins. Their manager was Larry Rothschild.
Miguel Cairo was the last active player remaining from the Opening Day roster, until retiring after the 2012 season.

## Offseason

* March 11, 1997: Luis Polonia was signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
* May 10, 1997: Pete Laforest was signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
* June 3, 1997: Jason Standridge was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1st round (31st pick) of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed June 6, 1997.
* June 3, 1997: Kenny Kelly was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2nd round of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed June 12, 1997.
* November 11, 1997: Mike Kelly was traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for a player to be named later. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays sent Dmitri Young (November 18, 1997) to the Cincinnati Reds to complete the trade.
* December 9, 1997: Wade Boggs signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
* December 16, 1997: Scott McClain was signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
* December 18, 1997: Josías Manzanillo was signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
* January 27, 1998: Dave Silvestri was signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
* January 27, 1998: Jerome Walton was signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

### Expansion Draft
#### Round 1

| Pick | Player | Position | From | To |
| 1 | Tony Saunders | LHP | FLA | TB |
| 4 | Quinton McCracken | OF | COL | TB |
| 6 | Bobby Abreu | OF | HOU | TB |
| 8 | Miguel Cairo | 2B | CHC | TB |
| 10 | Rich Butler | OF | TOR | TB |
| 12 | Bob Smith | 3B | ATL | TB |
| 14 | Jason Johnson | RHP | PIT | TB |
| 16 | Dmitri Young | 1B | CIN | TB |
| 18 | Esteban Yan | RHP | BAL | TB |
| 20 | Mike DiFelice | C | STL | TB |
| 22 | Bubba Trammell | OF | DET | TB |
| 24 | Andy Sheets | IF | SEA | TB |
| 26 | Dennis Springer | RHP | ANA | TB |
| 28 | Dan Carlson | RHP | SF | TB |

#### Round 2

| Pick | Player | Position | From | To |
| 30 | Brian Boehringer | RHP | NYY | TB |
| 32 | Mike Duvall | LHP | FLA | TB |
| 34 | John LeRoy | RHP | ATL | TB |
| 36 | Jim Mecir | RHP | BOS | TB |
| 38 | Bryan Rekar | RHP | COL | TB |
| 40 | Rick Gorecki | RHP | LAD | TB |
| 42 | Ramón Tatís | LHP | CHC | TB |
| 44 | Kerry Robinson | OF | STL | TB |
| 46 | Steve Cox | 1B | OAK | TB |
| 48 | Albie Lopez | RHP | CLE | TB |
| 50 | José Paniagua | RHP | MON | TB |
| 52 | Carlos Mendoza | OF | NYM | TB |
| 54 | Ryan Karp | LHP | PHI | TB |
| 56 | Santos Hernández | RHP | SF | TB |

#### Round 3

| Pick | Player | Position | From | To |
| 58 | Randy Winn | OF | FLA | TB |
| 60 | Terrell Wade | LHP | ATL | TB |
| 62 | Aaron Ledesma | IF | BAL | TB |
| 64 | Brooks Kieschnick | OF | CHC | TB |
| 66 | Luke Wilcox | OF | NYY | TB |
| 68 | Herbert Perry | IF | CLE | TB |
| 70 | Vaughn Eshelman | LHP | OAK | TB |

### 1996–97 MLB June drafts and minor league affiliates

The two expansion teams set to debut in 1998, the Devil Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks, had two full seasons to establish scouting and player development systems and were permitted to participate fully in the 1996 and 1997 Major League Baseball drafts. The Devil Rays drafted 29th in 1996 (when they selected 97 players overall) and 31st in 1997 (when they selected 92). The team began developing those players in a farm system with three minor-league affiliates in 1996 and five in 1997.
Among the players selected and signed by Tampa Bay from those drafts were pitcher Dan Wheeler (34th round, 1996), catcher Toby Hall (ninth, 1997), infielder Jared Sandberg (16th, 1996) and outfielder Alex Sánchez (fifth, 1996).

#### 1996 farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| A-Short Season | Hudson Valley Renegades | New York–Penn League | Bump Wills |
| Rookie | Butte Copper Kings | Pioneer League | Tom Foley |
| Rookie | GCL Devil Rays | Gulf Coast League | Bill Evers |
Hudson Valley affiliation shared with Texas Rangers

#### 1997 farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| A | St. Petersburg Devil Rays | Florida State League | Bill Evers |
| A | Charleston RiverDogs | South Atlantic League | Scott Fletcher |
| A-Short Season | Hudson Valley Renegades | New York–Penn League | Julio García |
| Rookie | Princeton Devil Rays | Appalachian League | Charlie Montoyo |
| Rookie | GCL Devil Rays | Gulf Coast League | Bobby Ramos |
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: St. Petersburg

## Regular season

* March 31, 1998 – The Devil Rays played their inaugural game, as well as their first home game, against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers won 11–6 in front of an audience of 45,369 fans.
* April 1, 1998 – The Devil Rays enjoyed the first win in their franchise's history, an 11-8 comeback against the Tigers. Rolando Arrojo was the winning pitcher.
* June 22, 1998 – The first interleague game between the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays took place at Tropicana Field. The rivalry would be known as the Citrus Series. The Marlins won the game in twelve innings by a score of 3–2.

### Opening Day starters

| 3 | Quinton McCracken | CF |
| 13 | Miguel Cairo | 2B |
| 12 | Wade Boggs | 3B |
| 29 | Fred McGriff | 1B |
| 24 | Mike Kelly | LF |
| 44 | Paul Sorrento | DH |
| 6 | John Flaherty | C |
| 14 | Dave Martinez | RF |
| 19 | Kevin Stocker | SS |
| 40 | Wilson Álvarez | P |

### Season standings

vteAL East :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| New York Yankees | 114 | 48 | .704 | — | 62‍–‍19 | 52‍–‍29 |
| Boston Red Sox | 92 | 70 | .568 | 22 | 51‍–‍30 | 41‍–‍40 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 88 | 74 | .543 | 26 | 51‍–‍30 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 79 | 83 | .488 | 35 | 42‍–‍39 | 37‍–‍44 |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 63 | 99 | .389 | 51 | 33‍–‍48 | 30‍–‍51 |

### Record vs. opponents

1998 American League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ANA | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL |
| Anaheim | — | 5–6 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 4–7 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 9–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 10–6 |
| Baltimore | 6–5 | — | 6–6 | 2–9 | 5–6 | 10–1 | 5–6 | 7–3 | 3–9 | 8–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 5–11 |
| Boston | 5–6 | 6–6 | — | 5–6 | 8–3 | 5–5 | 8–3 | 5–6 | 5–7 | 9–2 | 7–4 | 9–3 | 6–5 | 5–7 | 9–7 |
| Chicago | 6–5 | 9–2 | 6–5 | — | 6–6 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 5–6 | 5–6 | 4–6–1 | 7–9 |
| Cleveland | 7–4 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 6–6 | — | 9–3 | 8–4 | 6–6 | 4–7 | 3–8 | 9–2 | 7–3 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 10–6 |
| Detroit | 3–8 | 1–10 | 5–5 | 6–6 | 3–9 | — | 6–6 | 8–4 | 3–8 | 7–4 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 3–8 | 5–6 | 7–9 |
| Kansas City | 5–6 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | — | 7–5 | 0–10 | 7–4 | 4–6 | 8–3 | 3–8 | 6–5 | 9–7 |
| Minnesota | 5–6 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 5–7 | — | 4–7 | 4–7 | 2–9 | 7–4 | 7–4 | 4–7 | 7–9 |
| New York | 5–6 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 7–4 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 10–0 | 7–4 | — | 8–3 | 8–3 | 11–1 | 8–3 | 6–6 | 13–3 |
| Oakland | 7–5 | 3–8 | 2–9 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 4–7 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 3–8 | — | 5–7 | 5–6 | 6–6 | 5–6 | 8–8 |
| Seattle | 3–9 | 5–6 | 4–7 | 7–4 | 2–9 | 8–3 | 6–4 | 9–2 | 3–8 | 7–5 | — | 6–5 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 7–9 |
| Tampa Bay | 5–6 | 7–5 | 3–9 | 6–5 | 3–7 | 6–5 | 3–8 | 4–7 | 1–11 | 6–5 | 5–6 | — | 4–7 | 5–7 | 5–11 |
| Texas | 7–5 | 5–6 | 5–6 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 8–3 | 8–3 | 4–7 | 3–8 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–4 | — | 7–4 | 8–8 |
| Toronto | 7–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 6–4–1 | 4–7 | 6–5 | 5–6 | 7–4 | 6–6 | 6–5 | 7–4 | 7–5 | 4–7 | — | 9–7 |

### Notable transactions

* May 26, 1998: Jerome Walton was released by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
* June 2, 1998: Aubrey Huff was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 5th round of the 1998 amateur draft. Player signed June 17, 1998.
* July 1, 1998: Josías Manzanillo was released by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

### Citrus Series

The season series each year between the Devil Rays and the Florida Marlins has come to be known as the Citrus Series. In 1998, the Marlins won the series 3 games to 1.
* June 22 - Devil Rays vs Marlins: 2 – 3
* June 23 - Devil Rays vs Marlins: 6 – 4
* June 24 - Devil Rays @ Marlins: 4 – 8
* June 25 - Devil Rays @ Marlins: 1 – 5

### Roster
## Player stats

* = Indicates team leader

### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | Avg. | SB |
| C | John Flaherty | 91 | 304 | 63 | 3 | 24 | .207 | 0 |
| 1B | Fred McGriff | 151 | 564 | 160 | 19 | 81 | .284 | 7 |
| 2B | Miguel Cairo | 150 | 515 | 138 | 5 | 46 | .268 | 19 |
| 3B | Bob Smith | 117 | 370 | 102 | 11 | 55 | .276 | 5 |
| SS | Kevin Stocker | 112 | 336 | 70 | 6 | 25 | .208 | 5 |
| LF | Quinton McCracken | 155 | 614 | 179 | 7 | 59 | .292 | 19 |
| CF | Randy Winn | 109 | 338 | 94 | 1 | 17 | .278 | 26 |
| RF | Dave Martinez | 90 | 309 | 79 | 3 | 20 | .256 | 8 |
| DH | Paul Sorrento | 137 | 435 | 98 | 17 | 57 | .225 | 2 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; Avg. = Batting average; SB = Stolen bases
| Player | G | AB | H | HR | RBI | Avg. | SB |
| Wade Boggs | 123 | 435 | 122 | 7 | 52 | .280 | 3 |
| Aaron Ledesma | 95 | 299 | 97 | 0 | 29 | .324 | 9 |
| Mike Kelly | 106 | 279 | 67 | 10 | 33 | .240 | 13 |
| Mike Difelice | 84 | 248 | 57 | 3 | 23 | .230 | 0 |
| Rich Butler | 72 | 217 | 49 | 7 | 20 | .226 | 4 |
| Bubba Trammell | 59 | 199 | 57 | 12 | 35 | .286 | 0 |
| Jerome Walton | 12 | 34 | 11 | 0 | 3 | .324 | 0 |
| Scott McClain | 9 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .100 | 0 |
| Dave Silvestri | 8 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .071 | 0 |
| Tim Laker | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .200 | 0 |
| Kerry Robinson | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Rolando Arrojo | 32 | 202.0 | 14 | 12 | 3.56 | 152 |
| Tony Saunders | 31 | 192.1 | 6 | 15 | 4.12 | 172 |
| Wilson Álvarez | 25 | 142.2 | 6 | 14 | 4.73 | 107 |
| Julio Santana | 32 | 140.1 | 5 | 6 | 4.23 | 60 |
| Dennis Springer | 29 | 115.2 | 3 | 11 | 5.45 | 46 |
| Bryan Rekar | 16 | 86.2 | 2 | 8 | 4.98 | 55 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts; SV = Saves
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | SV |
| Roberto Hernández | 67 | 71.1 | 2 | 6 | 4.04 | 55 | 26 |
| Esteban Yan | 64 | 88.2 | 5 | 4 | 3.86 | 77 | 1 |
| Jim Mecir | 68 | 84.0 | 7 | 2 | 3.11 | 77 | 0 |
| Albie Lopez | 54 | 79.2 | 7 | 4 | 2.60 | 62 | 1 |
| Rick White | 38 | 68.2 | 2 | 6 | 3.80 | 39 | 0 |
| Scott Aldred | 48 | 31.1 | 0 | 0 | 3.73 | 21 | 0 |
| Dan Carlson | 10 | 17.2 | 0 | 0 | 7.64 | 16 | 0 |
| Ramón Tatís | 22 | 11.2 | 0 | 0 | 13.89 | 5 | 0 |
| Matt Ruebel | 7 | 8.2 | 0 | 2 | 6.23 | 6 | 0 |
| Eddie Gaillard | 6 | 7.2 | 0 | 0 | 5.87 | 5 | 0 |
| Mike Duvall | 3 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 6.75 | 1 | 0 |
| Brad Pennington | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | inf | 0 | 0 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts; SV = Saves
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO | SV |
| Jason Johnson | 13 | 60.0 | 2 | 5 | 5.70 | 36 | 0 |
| Rick Gorecki | 3 | 16.2 | 1 | 2 | 4.86 | 8 | 0 |
| Terrell Wade | 2 | 10.2 | 1 | 1 | 5.06 | 8 | 0 |
| Dave Eiland | 1 | 2.2 | 0 | 1 | 20.25 | 1 | 0 |

## Game log

Game Log :
March (0-1)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1March 31Tigers11 – 6Thompson (1-0)Álvarez (0-1)45,3690-1 :
April (12-13)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
2April 1Tigers11 – 8Arrojo (1-0)Moehler (0-1)30,1091-1
3April 2Tigers7 – 1Yan (1-0)Worrell (0-1)28,2612-1
4April 3White Sox10 – 4Baldwin (1-0)Gorecki (0-1)31,8162-2
5April 4White Sox8 – 2Springer (1-0)Eyre (0-1)36,5993-2
6April 5White Sox5 – 0Álvarez (1-1)Bere (0-1)33,7334-2
7April 7@ Tigers3 – 1Florie (0-1)Arrojo (1-1)Jones (1)45,7684-3
8April 10@ White Sox3 – 0Sirotka (1-1)Saunders (0-1)Karchner (1)13,5634-4
9April 11@ White Sox5 – 1Gorecki (1-1)Bere (0-2)17,3225-4
10April 12@ White Sox4 – 1Álvarez (2-1)Navarro (0-2)Hernández (1)14,0046-4
11April 13Twins13 – 12 (14)Yan (1-0)Trombley (0-2)31,9697-4
12April 14Twins8 – 2Radke (2-1)Springer (1-1)34,3377-5
13April 16@ Angels6 – 5Saunders (1-1)Holtz (1-1)Hernández (2)22,9068-5
14April 17@ Angels5 – 0Finley (3-0)Gorecki (1-2)31,5168-6
15April 18@ Angels8 – 1Álvarez (3-1)Dickson (0-3)37,8789-6
16April 19@ Angels6 – 0Arrojo (2-1)Watson (0-2)34,58010-6
17April 21@ Rangers4 – 0Sele (4-0)Springer (1-2)26,77610-7
18April 22@ Rangers7 – 2Helling (4-0)Saunders (1-2)30,77010-8
19April 23@ Rangers12 – 5Johnson (1-0)Oliver (0-3)33,31911-8
20April 24Angels10 – 3Watson (1-2)Álvarez (3-2)27,76711-9
21April 25Angels7 – 1Hill (4-1)Arrojo (2-2)33,39511-10
22April 26Angels2 – 1Olivares (1-0)Springer (1-3)Percival (5)26,88211-11
23April 27Athletics7 – 6Mathews (1-0)Hernández (0-1)Taylor (4)25,48411-12
24April 28Athletics4 – 3Small (1-0)Johnson (1-1)Taylor (5)25,13811-13
25April 29@ Twins2 – 0Tewksbury (1-0)Álvarez (3-3)Aguilera (5)8,96411-14
26April 30@ Twins2 – 0Arrojo (3-2)Hawkins (0-3)8,86012-14 :
May (12-16)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
27May 1@ Indians7 – 5Colón (2-1)Springer (1-4)Jackson (10)42,71212-15
28May 2@ Indians5 – 1Ogea (1-1)Saunders (1-3)42,52512-16
29May 3@ Indians10 – 8Mesa (3-0)Hernández (0-2)42,59712-17
30May 5@ Royals4 – 2Pichardo (3-0)Álvarez (3-4)Montgomery (6)12,09612-18
31May 6@ Royals5 – 0Arrojo (4-2)Rusch (3-4)11,40113-18
32May 8Orioles8 – 2Rhodes (3-0)Lopez (0-1)35,35513-19
33May 9Orioles7 – 0Mussina (4-2)Springer (1-5)42,48613-20
34May 10Orioles4 – 3Yan (3-0)Mills (0-1)Hernández (3)34,12314-20
35May 11Indians4 – 2Arrojo (5-2)Burba (3-4)Hernández (4)30,33415-20
36May 12Indians6 – 5 (15)Santana (1-0)Jackson (0-1)30,19416-20
37May 13Royals4 – 0Rapp (3-3)Saunders (1-4)25,24416-21
38May 14Royals10 – 2Belcher (2-5)Springer (1-6)24,29616-22
39May 15@ Orioles4 – 1Álvarez (4-4)Erickson (4-2)Hernández (5)47,42117-22
40May 16@ Orioles5 – 2Arrojo (6-2)Belcher (2-5)Hernández (6)47,53818-22
41May 17@ Orioles7 – 3Mecir (1-0)Mills (0-2)47,62819-22
42May 18@ Orioles6 – 3Lopez (1-1)Drabek (3-5)Hernández (7)45,03320-22
43May 19@ Blue Jays3 – 1Williams (4-2)Springer (1-7)Myers (10)25,66220-23
44May 20@ Blue Jays9 – 1Hentgen (6-3)Álvarez (4-5)26,10720-24
45May 21@ Blue Jays6 – 1Guzmán (2-6)Arrojo (6-3)30,10820-25
46May 22@ Mariners5 – 2Johnson (2-1)Moyer (2-5)Hernández (8)29,52221-25
47May 23@ Mariners6 – 3Yan (4-0)Ayala (0-4)Hernández (9)35,81922-25
48May 24@ Mariners3 – 1Johnson (4-3)Springer (1-8)46,86722-26
49May 25@ Athletics8 – 2Oquist (1-3)Ruebel (0-1)13,19922-27
50May 26@ Athletics7 – 2Arrojo (7-3)Candiotti (4-5)9,80123-27
51May 28Mariners5 – 2Moyer (3-5)Johnson (2-2)27,01723-28
52May 29Mariners6 – 2Johnson (5-3)Saunders (1-5)32,14223-29
53May 30Mariners5 – 2Springer (2-8)Cloude (3-3)Hernández (10)40,21224-29
54May 31Mariners11 – 6Swift (4-3)White (0-1)35,18424-30 :
June (10-17)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
55June 1Rangers11 – 6Arrojo (8-3)Burkett (4-3)Hernández (11)24,38825-30
56June 2Rangers11 – 6Witt (5-3)Johnson (2-3)24,47725-31
57June 3@ Yankees7 – 1Hernández (1-0)Saunders (1-6)27,29125-32
58June 4@ Yankees6 – 1Irabu (5-1)Springer (2-9)22,75925-33
59June 5Expos5 – 2Hermanson (4-4)White (0-2)24,02525-34
60June 6Expos7 – 5Telford (3-2)Ruebel (0-2)Urbina (14)26,50125-35
61June 7Expos4 – 3 (11)Lopez (2-1)Kline (1-3)26,33426-35
62June 8@ Mets3 – 0Reed (7-3)Springer (2-10)24,18626-36
63June 9@ Mets5 – 4 (11)Mecir (2-0)Hudek (0-3)Hernández (12)30,33627-36
64June 10@ Mets3 – 2Leiter (7-3)White (0-3)Rojas (2)21,68227-37
65June 12@ Red Sox5 – 1Wakefield (7-3)Arrojo (8-4)31,99427-38
66June 14@ Red Sox3 – 2Gordon (4-1)Lopez (2-2)27,76827-39
67June 15Blue Jays8 – 7White (1-3)Quantrill (0-3)Hernández (13)24,12228-39
68June 16Blue Jays4 – 3Mecir (3-0)Myers (2-2)24,27829-39
69June 17Blue Jays2 – 1Arrojo (9-4)Guzmán (3-9)Hernández (14)24,39430-39
70June 18Red Sox7 – 5 (10)Wasdin (4-3)Yan (4-1)Gordon (21)30,17730-40
71June 19Red Sox4 – 1Avery (4-1)Saunders (1-7)Gordon (22)32,37530-41
72June 20Red Sox8 – 5Santana (2-0)Saberhagen (8-5)Hernández (15)41,16931-41
73June 21Red Sox3 – 1Martínez (9-2)Johnson (2-4)Gordon (23)40,34831-42
74June 22Marlins3 – 2 (12)Alfonseca (1-2)Mecir (3-1)25,62331-43
75June 23Marlins6 – 4Lopez (3-2)Dempster (1-2)Hernández (16)27,52332-43
76June 24@ Marlins8 – 4Meadows (6-6)Saunders (1-8)19,50132-44
77June 25@ Marlins5 – 1Hernández (6-4)Santana (2-1)16,82632-45
78June 26@ Phillies7 – 0Green (6-4)Johnson (2-5)17,55932-46
79June 27@ Phillies5 – 1Arrojo (10-4)Schilling (7-8)44,26233-46
80June 28@ Phillies5 – 4Lopez (4-2)Gomes (6-3)Hernández (17)25,15734-46
81June 30Braves7 – 2Neagle (9-6)Saunders (1-9)41,04734-47 :
July (9-16)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
82July 1Braves6 – 5Springer (5-3)Hernández (0-3)Ligtenberg (8)41,10034-48
83July 2Braves6 – 0Maddux (12-2)Arrojo (10-5)40,74934-49
84July 3@ Blue Jays3 – 2 (10)Myers (3-2)Yan (4-2)25,62534-50
85July 4@ Blue Jays8 – 0Carpenter (5-3)Springer (2-11)29,19834-51
86July 5@ Blue Jays2 – 1Quantrill (1-3)White (1-4)Myers (23)31,24034-52
87July 9Yankees2 – 0Pettitte (11-5)Rekar (0-1)Rivera (23)38,38634-53
88July 10Yankees8 – 4Irabu (7-3)Álvarez (4-6)Mendoza (1)40,36334-54
89July 11Yankees2 – 0Cone (13-2)Arrojo (10-6)Rivera (24)44,58934-55
90July 12Yankees9 – 2Stanton (4-0)Hernández (0-4)43,37334-56
91July 13Red Sox2 – 0Avery (6-2)Santana (2-2)Gordon (26)34-57
92July 14Red Sox5 – 4Lopez (5-2)Mahay (1-1)27,31035-57
93July 15@ Angels4 – 2Hasegawa (4-1)Álvarez (4-7)Percival (27)19,68135-58
94July 16@ Angels8 – 1Arrojo (11-6)Sparks (3-2)24,08536-58
95July 17@ Rangers7 – 4Oliver (5-7)Mecir (3-2)Wetteland (26)33,87636-59
96July 18@ Rangers9 – 8Crabtree (4-0)Yan (4-3)44,35636-60
97July 19@ Rangers7 – 4Burkett (6-10)Rekar (0-2)Wetteland (27)34,70036-61
98July 21Mariners8 – 3Moyer (7-7)Álvarez (4-8)30,29836-62
99July 22Mariners7 – 5Lopez (6-2)Johnson (9-9)Hernández (18)31,55837-62
100July 24Athletics6 – 0Saunders (2-9)Oquist (6-7)25,47638-62
101July 25Athletics7 – 5Hernández (1-4)Rogers (10-4)30,17939-62
102July 26Athletics3 – 1Álvarez (5-8)Candiotti (5-13)Yan (1)37,19440-62
103July 27Athletics11 – 5Rekar (1-2)Stein (4-6)24,35941-62
104July 28@ White Sox4 – 1Baldwin (6-4)Arrojo (11-7)Simas (10)18,40241-63
105July 29@ White Sox7 – 2Saunders (3-9)Parque (2-4)17,38742-63
106July 31Tigers5 – 1Santana (3-2)Greisinger (1-6)Hernández (19)25,65443-63 :
August (10-20)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
107August 1Tigers8 – 0Moehler (12-7)Álvarez (5-9)28,13043-64
108August 2Tigers3 – 2Powell (2-2)Rekar (1-3)Jones (19)26,12043-65
109August 3White Sox6 – 1Baldwin (7-4)Arrojo (11-8)24,69843-66
110August 4White Sox8 – 6Castillo (5-4)Saunders (3-10)Simas (11)24,86643-67
111August 5White Sox7 – 3Hernández (2-4)Howry (0-2)24,81444-67
112August 7Indians5 – 1Gooden (4-6)Álvarez (5-10)32,25444-68
113August 8Indians6 – 2Nagy (10-7)Rekar (1-4)37,10844-69
114August 9Indians2 – 1Mecir (4-2)Assenmacher (2-5)36,64145-69
115August 10Orioles2 – 1Guzmán (8-12)Saunders (3-11)Benítez (16)26,35245-70
116August 11Orioles2 – 1Mecir (5-2)Benítez (4-3)26,47246-70
117August 12Orioles7 – 0Erickson (12-9)Álvarez (5-11)29,21146-71
118August 13@ Royals6 – 4Montgomery (2-4)Hernández (2-5)18,28946-72
119August 14@ Royals11 – 9Haney (5-5)Arrojo (11-9)Service (3)28,13346-73
120August 15@ Royals8 – 6Mecir (6-2)Bones (0-1)Hernández (20)18,70647-73
121August 16@ Royals8 – 3Santana (4-2)Belcher (11-10)16,76248-73
122August 17@ Indians4 – 3Colón (13-6)Álvarez (5-12)Jackson (30)43,13948-74
123August 18@ Indians4 – 2Gooden (5-6)Rekar (1-5)Jackson (31)42,96748-75
124August 19Orioles6 – 4Mussina (12-6)Arrojo (11-10)Benítez (19)44,53048-76
125August 20Orioles4 – 2Saunders (4-11)Rhodes (3-4)Hernández (21)44,56649-76
126August 21Royals6 – 5Whisenant (2-1)Yan (4-4)Montgomery (27)25,63849-77
127August 22Royals3 – 2Rosado (7-9)Álvarez (5-13)Montgomery (28)27,34649-78
128August 23Royals11 – 5Rapp (10-11)Rekar (1-6)33,12349-79
129August 25Twins4 – 1Rodriguez (4-2)Arrojo (11-11)Aguilera (32)23,12649-80
130August 26Twins7 – 3Tewksbury (6-9)Saunders (4-12)Aguilera (33)23,05949-81
131August 27Twins10 – 3Santana (5-2)Milton (7-11)23,31450-81
132August 28@ Tigers4 – 3Mecir (7-2)Moehler (12-11)Hernández (22)19,53451-81
133August 29@ Tigers10 – 6Springer (3-11)Thompson (10-12) ?52-81
134August 29@ Tigers8 – 2Greisinger (4-7)Rekar (1-7)16,40652-82
135August 30@ Tigers10 – 5Arrojo (12-11)Powell (3-5)Hernández (23)14,76553-82
136August 31@ Twins2 – 1Tewksbury (7-9)Saunders (4-13)Aguilera (34)7,88853-83 :
September (10-16)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
137September 1@ Twins6 – 5Serafini (7–4)Hernandez (2–6)7.94753-84
138September 2@ Twins4 – 1Yan (5–4)Hawkins (7–13)Lopez (1)7,16554-84
139September 3@ Twins5 – 4 (12)Guardado (3–1)White (1–5)7,07254-85
140September 4@ Athletics5 – 2Arrojo (13–11)Haynes (10–7)Hernandez (24)8.19855-85
141September 5@ Athletics3 – 0
Rogers (13–7)Saunders (4–14)
34,193
55-86
142September 6@ Athletics9 – 2Candiotti (11–15)
Santana (5–3)
35,162
55-87
143September 8@ Mariners10 – 0Alvarez (6–13)
Suzuki (0–1)
20,67956-87
144September 9@ Mariners5 – 2Abbot (0–1)
Arrojo (13–12)
Timlin (14)
22,256
56-88
145September 11Rangers3 – 2Saunders (5–14)
Stottlemyre (12–13)
Hernandez (25)
28,522
57-88
146September 12Rangers8 – 2
Helling (19–7)
Santana (5–4)
31,278
57-89
147September 13Rangers10 – 5White (2–5)
Loaiza (9–9)
34,007
58-89
148September 14Angels4 – 2Hasegawa (8–3)
Lopez (6–3)
Percival (40)
24,279
58-90
149September 15Angels8 – 1Arrojo (14–12)
Juden (8-14)
24,347
59-90
150September 16Yankees7 – 0Saunders (6–14)
Pettitte (16-10)
38,862
60-90
151September 17Yankees4 – 0
Irabu (12–9)
Santana (5–5)38,820
60-91
152September 18Blue Jays6 – 1Rekar (2–7)
Escobar (6–3)
32,053
61-91
153September 19Blue Jays7 – 5
Lopez (7–3)
Van Ryn (0–2)
Hernandez (26)
35,689
62-91
154September 20Blue Jays7 – 5
Risley (2–4)
Lopez (7–4)
32,183
62-92
155September 21@ Red Sox4 – 3
Saberhagen (15–7)
Saunders (6–15)
Gordon (43)
62-93
156September 21@ Red Sox8 – 4
Wade (1–0)
Reyes (3–3)
23,379
63-93
157September 22@ Red Sox11 – 2Schourek (8–9)
Santana (5–6)
20,399
63-94
158September 23@ Red Sox5 – 4Avery (10–7)
Rekar (2–8)
Gordon (44)
23,240
63-95
159September 24@ Yankees5 – 2
Buddie (4–1)
Alvarez (6–14)
Nelson (3)
24,555
63-96
160September 25@ Yankees6 – 1
Hernandez (12–4)Eiland (0–1)
32,447
63-97
161September 26@ Yankees3 – 1Cone (20–7)
Wade (1–1)41,150
63-98
162September 27@ Yankees8 – 3
Bruske (4–0)
White (2–6)
49,608
63-99 :

## Awards and honors

1998 MLB All-Star Game selection:
* Rolando Arrojo, pitcher

### Team leaders

* Home runs – Fred McGriff (19)
* Runs batted in – Fred McGriff (81)
* Batting average – Aaron Ledesma (.324)
* Hits – Quinton McCracken (179)
* Stolen bases – Randy Winn (26)
* Walks – Fred McGriff (79)
* Wins – Rolando Arrojo (14)
* Strikeouts – Tony Saunders (172)
* Earned run average – Rolando Arrojo (starters) (3.56), Albie Lopez (relievers) (2.60)
* Saves – Roberto Hernández (26)

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Durham Bulls | International League | Bill Evers |
| A | St. Petersburg Devil Rays | Florida State League | Roy Silver |
| A | Charleston RiverDogs | South Atlantic League | Greg Mahlberg |
| A-Short Season | Hudson Valley Renegades | New York–Penn League | Charlie Montoyo |
| Rookie | Princeton Devil Rays | Appalachian League | Dave Howard |
| Rookie | GCL Devil Rays | Gulf Coast League | Bobby Ramos |