Baseball’s top team has Spanish accent

Tampa Bay has a thriving Hispanic population, so it makes sense the city’s baseball team has a similar makeup.

There is an abundance of Latinos on a Rays squad that boasts the top Major League record (42-19 as of June 4) and leads in the American League East.

In a mostly white, U.S.-born sport on the big league level, the Rays dare to differ.

On any given night at Tropicana Field, manager Kevin Cash might write a lineup card that looks like this:

•Catcher: Christian Bethancourt (from Panama).

•First base: Yandy Diaz (Cuba).

•Shortstop: Wander Franco (Dominican Republic).

•Third base: Isaac Paredes (Mexico).

•Leftfield: Randy Arozarena (Cuba)

•Centerfield: Jose Siri (Dominican)

•Rightfield: Manuel Margot (Dominican)

•Designated hitter: Harold Ramirez (Colombia).

Look for several Rays to be in uniform July 11 for the Major League All-Star Game in Seattle. Bethancourt, Diaz, Arozarena and Franco might be the best bets among the positional players.

None came to Tampa through the annual draft of high school and college players. All were signed as teenagers (as young as 16) out of their homelands.

Among the positional players, only second base has an everyday white starter in Newport News native Brandon Lowe.

This fits in well in Tampa, with a Hispanic population of some 77,000 on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

An area tourist destination is Ybor City, aka “Florida’s Latin Quarter,” founded in the 1880s by immigrants mostly from Spain and Cuba.

The bustling community, brimming with shops and nightlife, has also been described as the “Cigar Capital of the World.”

It’s unknown if the Rays puff on an occasional celebratory stogie, but there is no question about their performance on the diamond.

The Rays opened the season with 13 straight wins and have never glanced back in an AL East Division that includes the name-brand New York Yankees and Boston

Red Sox.

Founded in 1998 as an expansion team, the Rays have been to two World Series (2008, ’20) and have four Eastern Division crowns (’08, ’10, ’20, ’21).

The “Low Budget Rays” succeed without extravagant salaries.

As of 2021, Tampa ranked 27th out of 30 teams with an overall team payroll of about $70 million. It’s now about $78 million.

By contrast, the New York Yankees and Mets, Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers are more in the $200 millionplus range.

The Rays have far-ranging appeal.

Tampa’s continued success is celebrated not just in Florida, but throughout the Caribbean, South America and Mexico.

The Rays are no flash in the pan. Since 2018 their overall record is 453-315.

Richmonders have little chance to see in person Tampa’s young stars on the rise. The Rays’AA farm club is the Montgomery, Ala., Biscuits of the Southern League. Richmond plays in the AA Eastern League.

O’Neal is a famous name in basketball. Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal ranks among the all-time NBA standouts.

Now it’s Me’Arah’s turn to put the family name on the marquee.

Me’Arah O’Neal, the 6-foot-4 daughter of Shaq and his former wife, TV personality Shaunie Henderson, is drawing recruiting interest coast to coast.

A rising senior at Episcopal High School in Bellaire, Texas, O’Neal already has scholarship offers from UCLA, Georgia Tech, Rutgers, Kentucky, Virginia and her dad’s alma mater, LSU.

The 7-foot-1 “Shaq” was a two-time All-American at LSU and later earned four NBA championship rings.

Miss O’Neal, who could already dunk at age 14, draws attention wherever she goes. On her recent visit to LSU, she was accompanied by her father and shown around campus by Tigers’ All-American Angel Reese.

News traveled fast across social media.

Another of Shaq and Shaunie’s children is Shareef O’Neal, now playing professionally in the NBA G-League. Shareef played at UCLA and LSU, but was hampered by injuries.

Like Shareef, Me’Arah began high school at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, Calif., before transferring to the Houston area school.

Her travel team has been Sports Academy GBL Swish.

LSU won its first NCAA title this past season under coach Kim Mulkey. Already in the fold for this coming season is incoming freshman Mikaylah Williams, the top-ranked player in the high school Class of ’23.