Rays will honor Dave Wills with pregame tribute on April 22

ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays plan to honor longtime radio broadcaster Dave Wills, who died in his sleep early Sunday, with a pregame tribute on April 22.

It will be a fitting day as the Rays are hosting the White Sox, for whom Wills, 58, worked for 11 years before coming to Tampa Bay in 2005.

Rays players and staff on Monday still were dealing with the shocking loss.

“It was confusing, because we just saw the guy and it’s just crazy how fast things can happen,” pitcher Shane McClanahan said. “We’re thinking about him and his family. We’re gonna miss him.”

The number of tributes, media articles and messages of condolences from around the major leagues are an indication of how much Wills impacted people’s lives, manager Kevin Cash said. So was the anecdote Cash shared of being at a youth league field with his son Sunday night and having every parent come up to say something about Wills.

“That’s how big of a person he was,” Cash said. “And the presence that he carried throughout this organization for 18 years.”

The team also said radio coverage will resume Saturday, with Andy Freed — Wills’ partner since 2005 — and Neil Solondz calling the 3:10 p.m. game against the Marlins from Jupiter on 95.3-FM/620-AM and the team network.

The Rays canceled coverage of the Sunday-Monday games and also will do so for the Thursday-Friday games. A special “Countdown to Opening Day” show dedicated to Wills will air Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

To honor Wills, the family suggested donations to the Clearwater-based Homeless Empowerment Program and Tampa-based Buddy Baseball program, two groups he worked with.

McClanahan passed on Team USA invite

McClanahan said he passed on an invitation to pitch for the U.S. team in the upcoming World Baseball Classic in a mutual decision with his bosses to “prioritize” preparation for this season with the Rays.

“It was a long season last year (including a short injured-list stint due to a shoulder issue), my first full year, and I want to do everything in my power to be ready for these guys in here and ultimately make 33 starts and pitch deep into the postseason,” he said.“I felt I wanted to take more preparation and put more work in as opposed to leaving in early March and getting in my (game) routine.”

Still, McClanahan, 25, said it was a “very hard” decision and he hopes to get a chance in a future tournament: “There’s no greater honor in the world than to pitch for Team USA. ... It just wasn’t the right time period for me right now.”

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Game details: Rays 5, Marlins 1

McClanahan allowed one hit over 2-2/3 innings for the 4-5-1 Rays, mixing in all of his pitches and throwing 29 of 39 for strikes. ... Luke Raley, competing for an outfield/first base job, hit his third homer of the spring, second off a lefty. .. Lefty-swinging prospect Kyle Manzardo hit an impressive home run, also off a lefty, measured at 399 feet to right, and off the bat at 105.8 mph. .. Lefty Josh Fleming had a solid outing, retiring all seven batters he faced.

Miscellany

Greg Jones, the 2019 first-rounder who has played only shortstop (and DH) in the minors, will start playing the outfield this week as the Rays seek to take advantage of his speed and maximize his versatility. ... Infielder Yandy Diaz, sidelined with a hip issue since Feb. 27, expects to return to action Thursday.

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