On July 30, 2004, the Tampa Bay Rays (then Devil Rays) traded pitcher Victor Zambrano to the New York Mets for highly touted pitching prospect Scott Kazmir. Zambrano continued to besmirch the Zambrano name in New York, and is now tumbling around the Minor Leagues. Kazmir has been instrumental in the Rays' shocking ascent to the position of AL East champions in 2008. The Mets are struggling not to repeat their collosal failure of 2007, in which they managed to blow a 7 game lead with 17 games left in the season. Safe to say, the Rays got the better end of that deal. Except they now face a strange predicament: Who to throw out the first pitch of their first ever playoff game? Rays president Matt Silverman said "MLB asked us who it'd be. We realized nobody in the history of the franchise had done anything to be worthy of the honor." Well, the goal of this here petition is for the Rays to have Mr. Zambrano himself throw out the first pitch. Is there a better choice? If one person can be given credit for the Rays' turn of fate, why not Zambrano? Sign this petition if you're a Rays fan, a baseball fan or if you just love irony (or hate the Mets.)
Inspiration for this petition goes to one Mr. AJ Daulerio, of www.deadspin.com.
On July 30, 2004, the Tampa Bay Rays (then Devil Rays) traded pitcher Victor Zambrano to the New York Mets for highly touted pitching prospect Scott Kazmir. Zambrano continued to besmirch the Zambrano name in New York, and is now tumbling around the Minor Leagues. Kazmir has been instrumental in the Rays' shocking ascent to the position of AL East champions in 2008. The Mets are struggling not to repeat their collosal failure of 2007, in which they managed to blow a 7 game lead with 17 games left in the season. Safe to say, the Rays got the better end of that deal. Except they now face a strange predicament: Who to throw out the first pitch of their first ever playoff game? Rays president Matt Silverman said "MLB asked us who it'd be. We realized nobody in the history of the franchise had done anything to be worthy of the honor." Well, the goal of this here petition is for the Rays to have Mr. Zambrano himself throw out the first pitch. Is there a better choice? If one person can be given credit for the Rays' turn of fate, why not Zambrano? Sign this petition if you're a Rays fan, a baseball fan or if you just love irony (or hate the Mets.)
Inspiration for this petition goes to one Mr. AJ Daulerio, of www.deadspin.com.
We, fans of the Tampa Bay Rays and baseball in general, to kindly request that, in the name of the spirit of the game and irony, have one Mr. Victor Zambrano throw out the first pitch of your organization's first playoff game. We request that you do this not for us, but as a way to honor a man who has helped your organization achieve new levels of success. Also, we request that you do it for yourself, since it would certainly put your mind at ease and put an end to the stress you must be feeling under the pressure of choosing someone to throw out the first pitch. Thank you for your time.
We signed the "Victor Zambrano to Throw Our First Pitch of Tampa Bay Rays' 2008 Playoff Run" petition!
# 41:
6:48 pm PDT, Oct 1,Juanita Ann Magers, Ohio
Go for it, Victor ! I'm still routing for you. God bless. Mike & Juanita Magers
# 39:
12:12 pm PDT, Sep 26,Pam Boland, Georgia
# 38:
10:15 am PDT, Sep 26,Ryan Carroll, Illinois
# 37:
6:41 am PDT, Sep 26,John Lopez, Illinois
As an out of town Tampa Bay Rays fan, I don't get all the Rays news that I wish I could. But I feel that if anyone has had an important impact on the Rays, it's Victor Zambrano. First off, he was one of the better pitchers the Rays have had in their history so far. And of course, secondly he is the reason Tampa Bay has one of the top up and coming starters in the MLB. Give the man a chance to be appreciated for his impact on this organization.
# 36:
6:24 am PDT, Sep 26,Lenny DeStefano, New York
I'm a Mets fan, and even though we got screwed, I still think he should do it.
6:27 pm PDT, Sep 25,Name not displayed, Texas
zambranowned!!
# 30:
5:51 pm PDT, Sep 25,Jeff Burns, Massachusetts
Sorry Mets fans....but remember, whatever doesn't kill you will only make you whine more.
# 29:
5:00 pm PDT, Sep 25,Name not displayed, Canada
# 28:
4:47 pm PDT, Sep 25,Name not displayed, Washington
# 27:
4:39 pm PDT, Sep 25,Charlie Peters, California
# 26:
4:38 pm PDT, Sep 25,Matthew Zelinsky, Pennsylvania
no one, in the history of mankind, has done more to help tampa get to the playoffs than victor zambrano!
# 25:
4:31 pm PDT, Sep 25,Victor Catano, New York
If not Zambrano, then Steve "D-Bag" Phillips.
# 24:
3:40 pm PDT, Sep 25,Ryan Pitman, Minnesota
# 23:
3:22 pm PDT, Sep 25,Name not displayed, New York
YEAH!!!
# 22:
3:15 pm PDT, Sep 25,Name not displayed, Texas
# 21:
3:10 pm PDT, Sep 25,Name not displayed, California
# 20:
3:01 pm PDT, Sep 25,Stephen Kristoff, Indiana
# 19:
2:43 pm PDT, Sep 25,Patrick Kennedy, New York
# 18:
2:36 pm PDT, Sep 25,Drew Conrad, California
# 17:
2:31 pm PDT, Sep 25,Flip Washington, Colorado
I'd prefer Carlos for confusion's sake, but this will do I suppose.
# 16:
2:31 pm PDT, Sep 25,Bobby O'Brien, Ohio
# 15:
2:30 pm PDT, Sep 25,Jim Duquette, Massachusetts
V Zambrano; C Zambrano. Hey you could have made the same mistake, don't lie
# 14:
2:30 pm PDT, Sep 25,J W, Illinois
This is hilarious. Where's the petition to buy Daulerio a consolation hooker when the Phils get swept in the playoffs again this year?
# 13:
2:27 pm PDT, Sep 25,Christopher Hrabe, Illinois
Daulerio, you are a genius.
# 12:
2:25 pm PDT, Sep 25,Michael Riley, Nevada
# 11:
2:21 pm PDT, Sep 25,Amanda Anonymous, Kansas
I think he really shows just how far the team has come
# 10:
2:18 pm PDT, Sep 25,Randy Van Vliet, California
Go Rays!
# 9:
2:13 pm PDT, Sep 25,Name not displayed, Massachusetts
# 8:
2:04 pm PDT, Sep 25,Name not displayed, New Jersey
