The Tampa Bay Rays are slowly falling out of the playoff picture despite being 9-games over .500. Before last night’s game against the Red Sox, Rays’ utility player Elliot Johnson checked Twitter to find an invitation from a fan in the parking lot. Chris e-mailed us the story this morning:

Prior to the Rays game last night, I was with a few buddies tailgating in the parking lot. Out of the blue I posted a tweet to Elliot Johnson that I was in the lot, and to come out and play catch. He comes out into the lot, in full game gear minus the jersey (with a glove and a ball) and plays catch with us. Additionally after the game we were behind the dugout, Elliot spots us and tosses us a few game balls. What a great experience, Elliot couldn’t have been a nicer guy.

This is one of those great stories where social media leads to something cool. The gold standard is Jeremy Guthrie played catch with a fan this spring.

I know what you’re thinking – Who invites a Major League Baseball player out to the parking lot to play catch and doesn’t even have a glove? Chris thought his buddy had one in the trunk. In his defense, even if he knew he didn’t have a glove, who would have thought Johnson would actually call his bluff? Either way, Elliot Johnson is now officially one of the most fan-friendly players in baseball. Oh, and the Rays went on to beat the hapless Red Sox, 13-3. All-in-all, a pretty memorable day at the ballpark.

[@elliotjohnson9, @chrisbelltb]