This morning, the Rays wake up in sole possession of first place for the first time since August 3.    That snaps 13 straight days in second place and it is just the second day the Rays own first place all to themselves since their 52-day run as the Beast of the East ended on June 13.

It is not remarkable that this team owns the best record in baseball.  It IS remarkable that they fought back to catch the Yankees again when they had every reason to feel defeated.  They could have quit on June 13 when they blew that huge early-season lead.  They could have quit every time they got close to or tied New York in the days since June 13.  They could have quit when it seemed like the Yankees would never lose.  But they didn’t.  And that begs the question…why didn’t they give up?  How’d they know they could still catch the mighty Yankees?

Easy.  They have all been there before.

Of the 32 guys currently in the Rays’ clubhouse, 16 had a hand in the Rays 2008 World Series run.  Four other players have postseason experience with other clubs.  (two players — Carlos Pena and Dan Wheeler– have both the 2008 experience and other postseason experience).

Most of the major league playoff experience in our clubhouse is limited.  I am not sure how much experience the Rays got with the marathon in 2008 because they were the underdog the entire way.  They were never worried about falling off the pace because they were just having so much fun enjoying the ride.  That changes when you are the lead dog.  So that limited experience doesn’t seem to explain the Rays belief that they would still have a chance to unseat the pinstriped kings.

But, there is more to life than Major League experience.  The Cajun Kid proved that last night.  He wasn’t around for 2008.  But he does have significant postseason experience.  Between 2004 and 2009, Reid Brignac was a major contributor on 7 different teams that reached the minor league playoffs and, last season, was the starting shortstop for the Durham Bulls when they won the AAA World Series.

Brignac’s experience is not unique.  While the Major League [Devil] Rays struggled for a decade, their minor league affiliates dominated minor league baseball.  Starting with the 1997 Florida State League title, [Devil] Ray affiliates* have made 20 playoff appearances and won 7 league titles.

Is a minor-league pennant race the same as the AL East pennant race?  Absolutely not.  But that doesn’t mean players like Brignac, John Jaso (5 playoff teams), Wade Davis (3 playoff teams), Jeff Niemann (3 playoff teams), and the others can’t draw on their minor league experience to help them take each day at a time and realize that the season doesn’t end on June 13, or August 3.  There is always time to make up ground and this group of players has shown remarkable persistence in their pursuit of another banner.

Here is a list of all the players on the current roster that have participated in the minor league playoffs with a [Devil] Rays affiliate.

*I am only counting the full-season affiliates from low-A to AAA.  But, it should be noted that the Rays short-season affiliates have also had incredible success.