D'Rays diehards

The poor record? The cruel jokes? One really long losing streak? None of it matters to two of the Rays' most loyal fans.

[Times photo: Lara Cerri] Elliot and Marilyn Satinoff of Palm Harbor watch Friday night's game at Tropicana Field. "It's very frustrating right now, but we try to have a lot of patience," said Elliot Satinoff, who has had season tickets since opening day 1998.

By MIKE BRASSFIELD
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 11, 2002

ST. PETERSBURG -- What kind of fan roots for the worst team in baseball, endures a 15-game losing streak, shows up for every game of a homestand?

And still holds out hope?

The answer was sitting Friday night in seats 9 and 10, Row Z, Section 104.

Just like every night.

"My wife and I love the Devil Rays. It's very frustrating right now, but we try to have a lot of patience," said Elliot Satinoff, 58, who has owned season tickets since opening day 1998. "They have some talented young ballplayers. You just have to realize that eventually they'll jell and come out of this."

Elliot and Marilyn Satinoff are the kind of diehard fans who root for the Rays night after night. And they were at Tropicana Field once again Friday night, 26 rows behind home plate.

End of the third inning. No score.

"Already they've left men on base in two innings," says Marilyn Satinoff.

The Satinoffs know all about bad baseball.

The longtime Palm Harbor residents are native New Yorkers who followed the Mets through the 1960s. The Mets were terrible. They were perennial laughingstocks whose best pitcher once went 5-22.

They still hold all kinds of records for futility.

Then, in 1969, they shocked the world.

They won the World Series, the same year the Jets won the Super Bowl. The same year Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. The same year the Satinoffs got married.

The Satinoffs think about that as they watch their Devil Rays lose and lose and lose.

Bottom of the fourth. Jason Conti hits a three-run homer. The crowd leaps to its feet and roars. Rays lead, 3-2.

"All right! Something to cheer about! First time in two weeks!" Elliot shouts.

This isn't the '60s, and these aren't the Mets. Ticket prices and players' salaries have skyrocketed, and the public has less patience for losers.

It's no secret that the Rays are in a downward spiral. Attendance is half of what it was during their inaugural season.

"I wish more fans would turn up," Elliot Satinoff said, looking around at the crowd, which was announced at 10,635 patrons. "There are probably less than 10,000 people here."

Being a fan means rooting for your team during the tough times, the Satinoffs say. Remember the early Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

Bottom of the seventh, Randy Winn hits a clutch single to drive in two runs for the Rays. The crowd roars, but the Rays still trail 6-5.

Will the losing streak continue?

The Satinoffs and their fellow diehards in Section 104 will keep their season tickets. Where others see a punchless offense and poor relief pitching, these fans see a scrappy young team brimming with promise.

The Satinoffs view Devil Rays games as a good entertainment value in a conveniently located, family-friendly atmosphere.

"Kids have a blast at the ballpark," Elliot Satinoff said. "And in New York, you wait an hour and a half to get out of the parking lot. We can get home to Palm Harbor in 35 minutes."

Marilyn Satinoff has something to say about much-maligned Tropicana Field.

"I know a lot of people don't like baseball in a dome. But living in Florida, I think it's best," she said. "You don't have to contend with heat, humidity, bugs. As much as people complain about it, I think it's fabulous."

Bottom of the eighth, and the crowd smells blood. The Rays, still down 6-5, have the bases loaded. The batter, Chris Gomez, goes to a full count.

"This next pitch could be the key of the game," Elliot says. "This is what makes baseball so exciting."

Gomez hits into a double play, ending the inning.

Elliot Satinoff co-owns a television store in Holiday. Marilyn Satinoff teaches Pasco County first-graders.

Baseball is in their blood. They used to take their sons to see the Dunedin Blue Jays, the St. Petersburg Cardinals, the Tampa Reds. The family traveled to baseball stadiums all over the country.

The sons grew up. Dan opened a Palm Harbor baseball card store called Cooperstown South. Evan was a starting second baseman at the University of Tampa.

Like thousands of other locals, the family waited a long time for Major League Baseball to land here. Elliot Satinoff still owns a shirt that says "Tampa Bay Giants." First the Giants were going to relocate here, then the White Sox.

Finally, the Rays made the dream real.

The Satinoffs were there for the electricity of the first opening day. They were there when Wade Boggs got his 3,000th hit.

Season Five is starting ugly, but they're not disenchanted.

"We're not giving up on them," Marilyn Satinoff said. "They're hard-working kids who are aspiring to be great baseball players. They need better relief pitching."

In the bottom of the ninth, Rays get a double and threaten to score, but come up short. They lose their 15th in a row, the longest Major League losing streak in 14 years.

"For pure excitement, that was the best game of the year," Elliot says. "But it's so frustrating. . . . We're so close, yet so far."

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