The five moments that made Randy Arozarena a superstar

5. The opening of Randy Land

The Tampa Bay Rays marketing department really struck gold when the team acquired Randy Arozarena. There are few players in all of baseball that bring the excitement he does to the diamond, and he has taken this to another level in 2023. This has led to what has perhaps become the organization’s best promotional event… maybe ever.

During every Friday game at Tropicana Field, sections 141 and 143 become “Randy Land”. Fans seated there are given Randy Arozarena t-shirts and free beer if he gets a home run. The place is rocking, and has been featured frequently on television broadcasts.

Randy Land represents Arozarena’s fan popularity perfectly. He is a human highlight reel that puts butts in seats, so it is only fitting that he gets his own set of seats at Tropicana Field.

4. Winning Rookie of the Year

The Tampa Bay Rays’ 2021 rookie class truly was one of the best a team has had in recent memory. They called up yearly Cy Young candidate Shane McClanahan, acquired ace rookie reliever-turned-starter Drew Rasmussen and gave super prospect Wander Franco his first chance to prove himself. Despite these stars having rookie seasons, only one could win the coveted American League Rookie of the Year, and that star was Randy Aorzarena.

Arozarena had eye-popping numbers in his first full season in the Major Leagues. He had a 20 home run/20 stolen base season, something only achieved by 11 rookies since 1958. Arozarena also led all 2021 rookies in baseball reference’s WAR, with a solid 4.1. This season also saw some incredible highlight reel plays from Arozarena in the field, such as his now iconic Superman-style dive against the Blue Jays.

3. Stealing home in a postseason game

Of all the moments in Randy Arozarena’s career, this one might be the most rewatchable.

Prior to game one between the Red Sox and Rays in the 2021 postseason, the most recent straight steal of home plate in a playoff game was by Javier Baez in 2016. The difference is, Randy Arozarena did not just steal home plate, but he pulled off a straight steal, something that had not been done in the postseason since Jackie Robinson in 1955 per Fangraphs.

To add to the epicness of this moment, the straight steal of home was accompanied by a solo home run hit earlier in the game. Arozarena became the first player to ever hit a homer and steal home in a single postseason game, another impressive bullet point to add to his growing resume.

2. The World Baseball Classic

The moment the 2023 World Baseball Classic ended, fans of the sport knew it would go down as an instant classic. In years from now, many will remember it as one of the great sporting spectacles of the 2020s. While yes, the first image that will likely pop into the minds of many when reminded of the WBC is Ohtani striking out Trout, Arozarena’s run for Team Mexico would probably be the second most iconic aspect of the tournament.

Randy Arozarena’s journey from Cuban defector to Mexican icon has been well documented, as he reportedly became a citizen in order to represent his new country in the tournament. Arozarena absolutely mashed during the WBC, hitting .450 with an absurd 1.507 OPS. In the field, Arozarena was living his best life, rotating between signing fans’ gloves and making some of the greatest catches you will see.

Randy Arozarena brought a country of baseball fans together to root for him. While Mexico is not his country of origin, his heroism representing the nation will forever make it his home.

1. Breaking all the postseason records in 2020

The 2020 season was one of the strangest in MLB history. The shortened schedule and expanded playoff field ended up making for some unpredictable baseball. Of all the wacky storylines in that almost-lost year of baseball, perhaps Randy Arozarena’s record-breaking postseason run was the wackiest.

The Rays’ 2020 American League winning team represented their franchise’s underdog spirit perfectly. There was no real superstore that the media could point to as the driving force behind the team, but rather a collection of players playing as a team. The team did not need a superstar, as it felt every game a different player had the chance to be the superstar.

Randy Arozarena was something of a relative unknown in baseball going into the 2020 postseason. He had performed well during the few games he played in the season and was known to have some potential as a prospect, but nobody could have expected what he achieved in the postseason.

Across the Rays’ four postseason series, Arozarena set the record for most hits (27), total bases (64), and most notably home runs (10) in a single postseason run. These records were all achieved before his official rookie season, making Randy Arozarena’s 2020 playoff run the best movie trailer ever. While there was disappointment to be had when the Rays eventually fell to the Dodgers, fans could hold their heads high, knowing they watched the birth of a superstar.