As of today, May 26, the two teams with the best record in baseball have one additional feature in common.  The Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Rays joined the league together in 1998.  Ten years later, they're the only two teams presently posting .600 winning percentages.

Now, this isn't too surprising for the D'backs.  After all, they've won a World Series, reached 100 victories in only their second season of existence, and generally have been competitive throughout their brief history, with a .508 winning percentage overall.

The Rays, on the other hand, have - to put it bluntly - sucked.  They've won just 40.5% of their games, have lost 100 contests in a campaign three times, and have just managed to eke out 70 victories one single time.  So to see them leading the same division they share with the Yankees and Red Sox is quite a shocker.  However, it appears that the team's long- (LOONNGG) term plan is finally paying off.  Of course, having the first pick in the draft year after year should greatly assist that effort.

So kudos to the Rays for actually having a strong plan and executing it to the point that they're finally able to stand toe-to-toe with the Beasts of the AL East.  After all, is there anyone outside of New York or Boston who doesn't want someone other than the Yanks or Sox to win that division for a change?  Go, Rays!