Lightning hit batting practice with Rays

Rays host Lightning for batting practice, first pitch

By George Christian Pappas, ESPN Radio

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It was no surprise that the Boston Red Sox were happy to see the Bruins crowned Stanley Cup champions for the sixth time in franchise history. Kevin Youkilis sported a Bruins hat at his locker during post-game interviews Wednesday. David Ortiz emerged from the showers whooping and hollering about Boston's 3-0 lead heading into the third period of Game Seven.

But the Tampa Bay Rays wanted to make sure the Lightning's playoff push wouldn't go unnoticed. The Bolts, of course, lost to the eventual champions in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Joe Maddon and the team invited leading scorer Steven Stamkos, center Nate Thompson, right winger Teddy Purcell and goalie Mike Smith to take batting practice and throw out the ceremonial first pitches before the Rays and Red Sox' rubber match Thursday.

The hockey players traded their sweaters for jerseys, experimented with pine tar, and chewed nervously on Duble Bubble gum before taking their hacks. The Rays chirped and chattered, huddling around the batting cage.

Purcell was the first in the cage and listened to his teammates' digs with each miss.

"He's a real contact hitter," Smith joked.

"No junk, eh," he warned equipment manager Chris Westmoreland, who threw pitches from behind an L-screen between the mound and home plate.

Stamkos followed and took some cuts of his own.

"I haven't swung a bat in awhile," he said. Stamkos had the most playing experience of the four. He said he played shortstop on a winning youth team in Markham, Ontario, when he was 12 or 13, and still plays catch on occasion with Smith.

"I play a little pickup game here or there in the summer. Baseball is a sport I love playing. I had to pick between baseball or hockey, but this is something I've dreamed about since I was a kid, coming out here to take BP," Stamkos said.

Maddon gave Smith and Thompson instruction before their swings, giving them tips on their mechanics with his own bat.

Rays assistant Don Zimmer interjected from the other side of the cage, "Swing at it like you're mad."

The goalie stepped in swung at a baseball for the first time in his life. He grew up playing fast-pitch softball in Kingston, Ontario, and competed actively until he was 17 years old. He out-hit his Lightning teammates, spraying line drives to all fields — a few reached the warning track, including a one-hopper over the fence.

The group cycled through the cage for three final pitches each. Stamkos drove two balls just to the left of the foul pole. But Smith finished the session with a walk-off blast, launching the last pitch into the seats. He flipped his bat and rounded the bases. Stamkos, Thompson and Purcell were waiting for him at home plate and the group bounced around the way the Rays do after a walk-off victory.

A Tropicana Field employee recovered his home run ball and tossed it back onto the field for Smith to keep.

Then Stamkos surprised him, smearing a towel covered in whipped cream all over his face during an interview for TV. All Smith could do was smile because he had bragging rights — at least until the next time the Lightning join the Rays for batting practice, prompting Evan Longoria to wonder when he'd get an invite to lace up skates and take the ice.

George Christian Pappas covers the Tampa Bay Rays and Major League Baseball for ESPN Radio Gainesville/Ocala. He is finishing his degree in journalism and Spanish at the University of Florida. You can send him questions or comments at gpappas@ufl.edu or on Twitter @gpappas99.

Category:

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• Stamkos
• Teddy
• Purcell
• Nate
• Thompson
• Mike
• Smith
• Joe
• Maddon
• Evan
• Longoria
• Don
• Zimmer
• Boston
• Red
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• Kevin
• Youkilis
• David
• Ortiz
• baseball
• hockey
• Stanley
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• playoffs

[jazbaz3]

g papp... and ya don't stop!