Kevin Cash emerged from the clubhouse where he was doused by beer, champagne, Gatorade, shaving cream, baby powder and who knows what else.
“A couple of them I am sure wanted to throw some punches in there at the same time,” said the Rays manager to laughter, of which there was plenty in the aftermath a 3-1 win over the visiting Mets on Saturday night for his team-record 755th victory. Cash passed Joe Maddon, the man he succeeded.
Laughter is good medicine and there was not much of it for the Rays during the season’s first five weeks. They entered a weekend series with the Mets at 14-18 and coming off a 1-5 road trip that included being swept by the White Sox and scoring all of four runs in losing two of three to the Brewers. However, it was nothing but good times Saturday night as Tampa Bay celebrated the manager’s achievement.
“They were pretty pumped,” said Cash, of the clubhouse celebration. “We have a bunch of good guys. Appreciative of all of them, and the guys from the past. It was a fun day. It was a long time coming, but I am excited it got here.”
The milestone arrived a little more than nine years after Cash picked up his first win, 2-0 over the Orioles on April 8, 2015, the third game of the season. Buck Showalter was managing in the opposing dugout.
“It was quite the honor to go up against him,” said Cash, who played for the Rays in 2005, in reflecting on that game.
Jake Odorizzi, who was with the Rays on a minor league deal during spring training this year before parting ways, got the win that day at Tropicana Field and combined with three relievers on the shutout.
“He reminded me of that earlier in spring training,” said a chuckling Cash. “So appreciative of Jake. Thank you to Jake.”
Cash, a Tampa native who remained in the Sunshine State to play collegiately at Florida State under the late Mike Martin, is also appreciative of everybody who has had a hand in his success piloting the Rays. He rattled off several names, including owner Stu Sternberg, team presidents Matt Silverman and Brian Auld, and Erik Neander, the head of baseball operations.
“I have been asked a lot lately, ‘Did you think you would be here?’” said the 46-year-old, who was the bullpen coach in Cleveland under Terry Francona prior to taking over in St. Pete. “No. I didn’t think I would be here. I didn’t know where I was (my first) two years doing this job, but I had a great support system. Ultimately, it comes down to being fortunate to have a lot of really good players and good teams.”
There have been plenty of good teams on Cash’s watch, which is underscored by the Rays having entered this season with a string of five consecutive playoff appearances. They won back-to-back (2020, 2021) American League East crowns and compiled a franchise record 100 victories in 2021.
As for Cash’s first two years, the 2015 team went 80-82, a three-game improvement over the previous season. However, the Rays dropped to 68-94 in 2016 for what is their lowest win total in a full season since 2007. Cash kept plugging away and now stands atop the club’s managerial wins chart.
“You think about that (first) win, you think about a lot of wins,” said MLB’s longest-tenured skipper with his current team. “It’s just the number of players that have come through and contributed to allowing myself, and more so the organization, to get here.”
