<P> The Devil Rays began to build their organization shortly after the franchise was awarded in 1995 by naming former Atlanta Braves assistant general manager Chuck LaMar the senior vice president of baseball operations and general manager . The franchise's first minor league games took place in the 1996 season . On November 7, 1997, Larry Rothschild was named the team's first manager . The team acquired 35 players in the Expansion Draft on November 18, 1997 . Tony Saunders from the Florida Marlins was the first player drafted by the Devil Rays . The team also drafted future star Bobby Abreu but traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies for Kevin Stocker, who had very little success for the Rays . Before the 1998 season, veteran stars Wade Boggs, Fred McGriff, and Wilson Álvarez were acquired . </P> <P> The Devil Rays played their first game on March 31, 1998 against the Detroit Tigers at Tropicana Field before a crowd of 45,369 . Wilson Álvarez threw the first pitch and Wade Boggs hit the first home run in team history that day . Despite losing their opening game 11--6, the team actually got off to a respectable start and were 11--8 after 19 before losing six straight and falling below . 500 . They would go on to lose 99 games that year . One of the first memorable moments in franchise history occurred on August 7, 1999 when Wade Boggs tallied his 3000th career hit, the first player to do so with a home run . Boggs retired after the season and was the first Ray with his number retired . He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005 . </P> <P> The Devil Rays acquired sluggers Vinny Castilla, Jose Canseco and Greg Vaughn; along with incumbent Fred McGriff, this quartet was dubbed the "Hit Show ." However, all of these players were past their prime and unable to sustain their previous successes . The Devil Rays continued to struggle in 1999 and 2000 . Prior to the 2001 season, they modified their team colors and uniforms and also acquired highly touted outfielder Ben Grieve from Oakland . Early in the 2001 season, Larry Rothschild was fired as manager and was replaced by Hal McRae, and McGriff was dealt to the Chicago Cubs . By the 2002 season, the Devil Rays decided to rebuild with younger players and drastically reduced the team payroll . Randy Winn, Aubrey Huff, Toby Hall, and Carl Crawford began to emerge as key players . However, the 2002 season would prove to be the worst in franchise history to date . McRae was moved to a front office position after the season . </P>

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