ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Got an inspirational quote? The Tampa Bay Rays want to hear from you.
Deep quotes are nothing new on the Rays’ clubhouse lineup card — they usually come from manager Joe Maddon — but the club is doing some crowdsourcing to find fresh thought-provoking material.
On Monday, Maddon tweeted that he will select an inspirational quote each day sent to him via Twitter. The winning quote will be posted in the clubhouse, and the winner will receive a “Friend-O-Rays” T-shirt as a prize.
Before a game against the Boston Red Sox at Tropicana Field on Monday, Maddon said the Rays had received about 500 tweets with inspirational suggestions. The first winner was Adam Branham of Arlington, Va., who channeled former track star Steve Prefontaine to earn the contest’s inaugural victory.
Congratulations to our first Friend-O-Rays winner @a_broham Good stuff twitter.com/RaysJoeMaddon/…
— Joe Maddon (@RaysJoeMaddon) June 10, 2013
“We’re going to try to get it to the point where the person will put the shirt on, take a photograph, send it back, and we’ll pop that out there also,” Maddon said.
The “Friend-O-Rays” T-shirt — with the slogan, “Good Happens … Here” (Maddon’s idea) — also will be given to people who perform random acts of kindness toward the Rays on the road or elsewhere throughout the season.
For now, though, get inspirational … and let Maddon know about it.
You can follow Andrew Astleford on Twitter @aastleford or email him at aastleford@gmail.com.
