Listen Now! Tampa Bay Rays reporter Marc Topkin breaks down team's chances in postseason

The Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in the American League and the third best record in all of baseball.

They’re playoff-bound for the third straight season.

Yet the Rays have the fifth-smallest payroll in Major League Baseball, according to Spotrac.com

Only the Marlins, Blue Jays and A’s had worse attendance this season.

And the team has trouble even getting noticed in an area that has the Super Bowl champion Buccaneers and the Stanley Cup champion Lightning.

If you’ve been following this Rays team, you know they don’t have any players of national acclaim.

Austin Meadows has been a bright spot for the Rays offensively this year. He’s wrapping up his fourth year in the league, but it’s really only the second time he played a full season. In 2019 he hit 33 home runs. This year he has 26 with six games to go.

He’s the only player on the team that will have more than 100 RBI. No Ray will bat .300.

Catcher Mike Zunino and second baseman Brandon Lowe each have more than 30 home runs, but Zunino has just 61 RBI while Lowe has 88.

The pitching staff doesn’t stand out, either.

They recently sent their winningest pitcher Josh Fleming down to the minors. And he was leading the team with 10 wins. Shane McClanahan has since won his 10th game.

Rich Hill may have been the most recognizable name on the staff, but the 41-year-old was traded to the Mets in July.

So, how on Earth does this team win so many games when the pitching and hitting don’t seem to be on an elite level?

And can they make it back to the World Series for the second year in a row?

To help us dissect the team is Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

Marc has been covering this team for the Times every step of the way since their beginning in 1998.

He suffered through the lean years, which were pretty much their first 10 years in existence, and he’s enjoyed their rise since 2008 — when they made their first playoffs — getting all the way to the World Series before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies.

They made it back to the Series last year only to lose 4-2 to the L.A. Dodgers.

Marc will explain to us how this team continues to succeed despite having so many factors working against them.

He also discusses the ownership group's recent dysfunction and the possibility of the team playing a split season in Tampa Bay and Montreal.

If you are a fan of baseball, you can’t miss this podcast. We haven’t had an opportunity to talk much baseball, so here’s our chance.

We can be downloaded wherever you listen to podcasts, or simply type in “The *State* of Florida Sports Podcast” into your favorite search engine and you’ll find several options to listen on, including Spotify. We also can be found on any of the 17 USA TODAY-Network Florida websites.

It’s as easy as hitting play. And at 22 minutes, 21 seconds, it’s a great way to pass the time while driving to work or taking a walk.

If you like it, you can check out previous shows, which feature current and former professional athletes and coaches, as well as our stable of journalists who cover beats and write columns, all of whom have a tie to the Sunshine State.

Contact Walters at twalters@gannett.com