Rays' Manager Joe Maddon was thought of as crazy when he told his team in spring training that they could make the postseason, but seven months later they are in the World Series. "When you deal with these people on a daily basis, you really understand their personalities, where they've come from, where they're at today," Maddon said. "I'm so proud of the group in general, the fact that we have grown so much in such a short period of time. I'm really proud of the way they've handled themselves to this entire moment." The Rays, who led the Red Sox 7-0 in Game 5 and stood just a handful of outs away from a five-game ALCS win over the defending champions, needed all they had on Sunday night to come out on top in Gave 7. "There's probably one person in this locker room that really thought we could do it, and that's Joe Maddon," said rookie pitcher David Price, who earned the save on Sunday night. "You can't think of last year and go over 100 wins right now. Everybody just slowly bought into the one goal this entire team has." The Phillies await as the Rays look to continue their storybook season of firsts. "I'm very proud of where our group is at today, and I could understand why you would have belly-laughed back then. But nobody is belly laughing right now," Maddon said. "And I could not be more proud of this group, and I have a strong conviction and belief that we're going to get it done tonight."