Kevin Cash has been around the block.

The 48-year-old is in his 12th year as Rays manager and is one of the most respected names within the game of baseball. As the Tampa native manages his sixth postseason, he recognizes there’s nothing quite like October.

“It’s different. Everything is magnified,” said Cash before Game 3 of the ALDS between the Yankees and Rays at Yankee Stadium. Every decision is probably a little bit sooner than normal than the regular season. I mean, the anxiety and the intensity of the situation, you cannot replicate that during the season, but it’s a lot of fun.”

Cash made it to the final dance just one time in his career when the Rays fell to the Dodgers in the 2020 World Series. The manager was scrutinized for pitching decisions — as he noted that “[the media] second-guess everything” was amongst the things he’s learned during his time managing through the postseason.

However, the decision to pull his then ace Blake Snell in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series with just 73 pitches through 5.1 shutout innings remains one of the most scrutinized moves in recent playoff history.

However, the manager has gathered far more experience and knowledge throughout the years.

“No. Look, I’ve had a lot of help over the years talking to other managers or talking with my front office and people that I really lean on and kind of learned as we went,” said Cash. “You can — until you’ve kind of lived it a little bit and understood how quickly these decisions come up and how important that fourth-inning decision can be, maybe the most important decision of the game comes in the fourth inning.

“That’s probably not something that you take into the regular season as much because you are playing so many games consecutively. It’s a much longer season. Here with the off days, this has been a unique series with the off days.”

Cash has another chance to get back to the dance with his club this season. The Tampa Bay Rays entered Wednesday night as the overwhelming favorites to represent the American League in the World Series at -110, according to Las Vegas sportsbooks, and for good reason.

The Rays feature a star-studded top of the order led by AL MVP candidate Junior Caminero and entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed in the league. The Rays ranked second in the league in team OPS (.728) and fourth in ERA (3.70), including a strong defense and baserunning team that constantly puts pressure on their opponents.

As the Yankees can certainly attest to, the Cash-led Rays will be a very tough out this postseason.