This story appears in the July 1, 2019, issue of Sports Illustrated. For more great storytelling and in-depth analysis, subscribe to the magazine—and get up to 94% off the cover price. Click here for more.
Last week the MLB executive council gave the Tampa Bay Rays permission to explore becoming the Central Florida Rays of Quebec. With the team's efforts to get traction on a new, publicly-financed ballpark in Tampa stalled, this plan is designed to let the Rays spend the first half of each season playing home games in a new, open-air ballpark in Tampa Bay and the second half in a new ballpark in Montreal.