Ben Zobrist, James Shields and B.J. Upton: The Last of the Devil Rays

It's only been three seasons since Tampa Bay parted ways with the "Devil" part of their name, becoming the Tampa Bay Rays, but the franchise has done everything it could think of to make their fanbase feel like that was a lifetime ago.

From 1998 until the name change in 2008, the Devil Ray franchise was known for Wade Boggs, constant Lou Piniella temper tantrums and constant losing. In fact, it would take the franchise six seasons to find it's way out of the basement of the American League East, finally finishing out of last in 2004 when the D-Rays finished fourth in the division.

That 2004 season would mark the only time Tampa Bay would finish outside of last place before changing their name in 2008.

These dark days aren't remembered by many in Tampa, however, with only three players on the 2011 Rays roster who ever played significant time in the old green and purple uniforms.

Ben Zobrist, James Shields and B.J. Upton are truly the last of the Devil Rays in Tampa Bay.

Upton is the longest tenured of the three, making his major league debut in 2004, at which time he became the youngest player to ever don a Tampa Bay uniform. Like his team, Upton would struggle through what would turn out to be the last few seasons in the history of the Devil Rays, having his best season for the team in their last year in existence in 2007.

Upton would record his career highs in both home runs and RBI that season, knocking 24 out of the park while driving in 82 runners.

And 2007 would mark the beginning of and upward trend in steals for the outfielder, posting 22 in this season and then doubling this total in 2008 and finishing just shy of this career best in the two seasons to follow.

Zobrist was acquired by Tampa in a trade with the Houston Astros in July of 2006 in exchange for first basemen Aubrey Huff. Zobrist would make his MLB debut in August of that year, but he would struggle through the '06 and '07 seasons until finally fixing the issues in his swing in the latter months of the 2007 season.

It wouldn't be until the "Devil" was erased from Tampa Bay's name that the 2006 acquisition would begin to pay dividends, however, specifically in 2009 when he racked up 27 homers and 91 RBI for the newly-named Rays on his way to the American League All-Star team.

Shields would make his Devil Rays debut in 2006 as well, struggling through his first season in the majors, ending with a 4.84 ERA and a lackluster 6-8 record. Starting in 2007, Shields would begin his streak of four consecutive seasons with double-digit wins, despite having earned run averages in the high 3.00s during the stretch.

These three players mark the only links to a past Tampa Bay would rather forget, but they are links that have played an instrumental role in the transformation of this franchise into a team many in the baseball community have learned to respect over the past three seasons.