The Tampa Bay Devil Rays were struggling in every way possible.
The on-field product had been lousy as the multitude of roster moves made by the front office had failed to bring a winning atmosphere to Tropicana Field.
Attendance lagged as well. After drawing 2.5 million people during their first season in 1998, the flagging Hit Show failed to sustain interest and the team finished the 2000 season with a draw of 1.4 million people.
Clearly, in the eyes of Rays leadership, this called for a new start. The first change was in the uniforms.