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DEVIL RAYS QUOTEBOOKTimes staff writers © St. Petersburg Times, published April 1, 1998 "I've been a part of a lot of Opening Days, and this was a good one. They're all special. Just to be playing the game is special. We lost today 11-6, but that's the same as losing 1-0. It's still a loss. The good thing about baseball is you learn from your mistakes, come back at 7 o'clock tomorrow night and get another chance. It's a long season." "The thing I will always have in my mind is the first pitch by Wilson (Alvarez). From leftfield, I couldn't see. There were like 10,000 cameras going off all at once. I can't remember being in a game where there was more attention and excitement in the air. Now it's one down, 161 to go." "This is the first time I've been part of the 25-man roster for Opening Day, so it was very exciting. I got chills, believe me. It was very emotional. Being with this organization will be nice because we can grow up together. No matter what, I can always look back on this day." Miguel Cairo"Opening Day is always exciting. I wish it could've ended differently. We never quit and kept fighting until we loaded the bases in the ninth. The fans were so loud. Hopefully, we can take advantage of that and get a little home-field advantage going for our team." Paul Sorrento"The fan support was unbelievable. I expected a lot, but it still surpassed my expectations. When I was introduced, I was just concentrating on not tripping as I ran on the field. I was trying to avoid that turf toe. That would've been totally embarrassing." "This day was important for a lot of people, for the people in our office, the fans, the players. Sometimes it doesn't turn out like you expected. I tried to do a good job, but I didn't. Baseball can be really tough. I thought I was throwing some nice pitches on the corners, but they were hitting them." "It was everything I expected it to be. Wild, exciting, loud, emotional. The only thing missing was a win. It would've been perfect if we could've pulled this game out." "It's one of 162. We still have 80 more home games. Opening Day just happens to be a big game that gets magnified. We had a nice comeback, but unfortunately we were down too many runs. Well, now we're under way. It was a long wait for a lot of people, but baseball is here." "I think we were more excited for the fans, the ones who had waited so long for this day to come. Now they have a professional baseball team. From a player perspective, it was very historic, but we've got a long way to go in this season." Quinton McCracken"There's a lot involved in Opening Day. But it's only one game. We have 161 to go, and hopefully they'll turn out a lot better than this one did. We need to perform a lot better." "I couldn't wait for this game to start. For guys like Wade (Boggs) and Fred (McGriff), they've been through so much before. For me, this was unique. As long as I play, I can say I was here before 45,000 fans. I was part of it. I'm just glad I didn't trip running out of the dugout." "Every game will be a new experience for me, but this one was extra special. It was history. I had chills all over my body. How can you not (have chills)?" "I don't think I realized how big the opening ceremonies would be until they actually happened. It was an amazing day. How many seats does this place have? It was packed. If this is the kind of support we're going to have, this will be a very special place to play." "Lots of fans. Lots of flashbulbs going off. That's what I was seeing when I was looking around. A lot of guys who had been in the playoffs were comparing it to that sort of atmosphere. It was one game, but it definitely was once in a lifetime." "I loved it. The enthusiasm was fabulous, and it was still packed in the ninth inning. We started scoring some runs, and the fans were getting louder and louder. You can tell Tampa Bay's ready for baseball." "It was awesome. We went out at 2:30, 2:45 and met some of the people coming in. It just gave me chills. When they played the national anthem, all the cameras going off, when they announced, "For the first time, here are your Devil Rays,' that was sweet." "(Seeing) all the fans and how excited they were to have a team here, I've never been a part of something like that. It was great, especially the way they stayed with us." "It was energy, that's what it was. You could feel the electricity in the air. It was a very special day for us, the city of St. Petersburg and the Tampa Bay area. The fans seemed to be into it. It was like there'd been baseball here for 20 years." "The whole day was awesome. As long as you can give the fans what they give to us, that's what baseball is all about." 
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