Just one reason for the Tampa Bay Rays upturn this year… their much improved defense according to Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus.
The Rays have gone from having one of the worst defenses in baseball history to one of the best. In fact their Defensive Efficiency Rating of .720 ranks second in baseball, just a couple ticks behind the Oakland A’s. This degree of improvement is literally without precedent. The Rays have improved their DER by 58 points this year, which is the largest year-over-year improvement that we’ve ever tracked.
The 2008 Marlins are #9 on the list as most improved.