During Joe Maddon's tenure as the Rays manager, he and the team coined several slogans, including the mantra "9=8" for the 2008 season, explained by Maddon as meaning that if nine players play nine innings of hard baseball every day, that team would become one of the eight teams who qualify for the postseason. Prior to 2008 season, the Rays had never had a winning season in franchise history, much less a postseason appearance. The slogan morphed throughout the 2008 MLB postseason as the Rays surpassed their previous team record for wins in a single season by more than 30 wins, and ultimately clinched the AL East division title for their first postseason appearance in franchise history. After they clinched their postseason spot, it became "9=4", to represent the teams advancing to the LCS. When they won the ALDS, it became "9=2", for the teams advancing to the World Series. When they won the ALCS, it became "9=1", representing the possible World Series Championship. For the 2009 season, Maddon introduced a new slogan, "'09 &gt; '08", to represent that the season would be "greater" than the previous year.