The Tampa Bay Rays' clubhouse is becoming a Wonder Ball -- you never know what's inside.

Manager Joe Maddon has surprised his players with a D.J., a magician and even a cockatoo during the past few weeks. And while we'll never know if these distractions actually led to winning, the Rays tend to do well when they're confronted with a surprise in the clubhouse.

With a big series looming against the Boston Red Sox, Maddon dug deep and wrangled up some more pre-game entertainment for his players. This time it was the Tampa-based merengue band Sol Caribe. The players enjoyed the group, and reliever Joel Peralta even danced with one of the band's drummers.

Taking the Caribbean feel a step further, closer Fernando Rodney had nine groups of three plantains hung above the lockers of some of the team's Latin players.


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"It's just one of those things we do here in Tampa (Bay)," Rays ace David Price said of the pre-game entertainment. "You probably don't see it in a whole lot of other places, especially not at a time like right now, not during a season. We’ve had this type of thing happen a couple times, so we all enjoy it."

And it seems like something worked, as the Rays picked up their sixth straight win with a 5-3 victory over Boston.

For the time being, at least, the plantains are staying.