Rays treat lucky kids to clubhouse tour

ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays took a different approach in the annual National PLAY Campaign stop at Tropicana Field this year. Usually the event centers around a ballgame played on an MLB diamond. This year became an in-depth tour behind the scenes of a Major League team.

A group spent two hours touring Tampa Bay’s clubhouse, training rooms and batting cages Saturday in St. Petersburg, complete with a chance to meet Logan Forsythe.

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“We decided to make it special for these guys,” assistant athletic trainer Paul Harker said. “It worked out good. I was happy we were able to do that.”

Harker, fellow assistant athletic trainer Mark Vinson and head athletic trainer Ron Porterfield split tour-guide duties during the two-hour visit, which started in Tampa Bay’s film room before taking a lap back into the clubhouse and finishing in the Rays’ batting cage. The goal of PLAY, which was created by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS) in 2004, is to raise awareness for childhood health and obesity issues. For the stops at MLB ballparks, PBATS teams up with the Taylor Hooton Foundation, adding a piece to the curriculum about the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs.

After a trip to the video room, Porterfield led the tour through the home clubhouse and into the coaches’ …

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