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Tampa Bay Rays news and links: Jonny Venters gets the out, feels the love

The feel-goodest of stories.

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MLB: Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore Orioles Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Rays Links

Johnny Venters

  • Of course, the biggest news was the comeback story of Johnny Venters, who faced a major league batter yesterday for the first time since 2012. Marc Topkin wrote a feature.
  • Steve Kinsella did as well.
  • As did Jeff Seidel.
  • And on Twitter there was an outpouring of support for Venters from his team and teammates.

Other Links

Lastly, there’s an auction to benefit the Umps Care charities right now, live through the 30th. Here’s the info:

It’s the 10th year of the auction, and it’s one of the major fundraisers that helps the charity support youth programs to provide MLB experiences for children awaiting adoption, Build-A-Bear Workshop experiences for hospitalized children coping with serious illnesses, college scholarships for deserving young adults who were adopted as children, and financial assistance for families in need. UMPS CARE Charities is the official charity of Major League Baseball umpires.

You can find and bid on items here. There’s a Kevin Kiermaier signed jersey available, but I have my eye on the “Lunch with an ump.” If you were choosing which ump to have lunch with, who would it be?