Longoria thought he’d be with Rays ‘perpetually’

PHOENIX — For Evan Longoria, it doesn’t really feel like that way back that he was sporting his No. 3 Rays uniform. But just a few issues make it appear that method.

It has been 5 1/2 years for the reason that deal that despatched Longoria from Tampa Bay to San Francisco. He’s now with the D-backs, the second workforce he’s performed for since that commerce. And when the Rays arrived at Chase Field on Tuesday, there have been no gamers of their clubhouse who performed alongside Longoria; other than supervisor Kevin Cash and hitting coach Chad Mottola, solely rehabbing reliever Andrew Kittredge overlapped with him.

This is simply the second time that the franchise’s biggest participant has confronted the membership he represented from 2008-17, because the Rays beforehand performed Longoria’s Giants in San Francisco in ‘19. Seeing Tampa Bay on the opposite facet of the sphere nonetheless brings again “a lot of good memories,” Longoria mentioned.

“Obviously the [2008] World Series, but also being traded is a big memory, too,” Longoria mentioned Tuesday afternoon. “I’ve talked so much about pondering that I used to be going to be there perpetually. The cause why I signed the contracts that I did was I believed that that was going to be the place I might be the remainder of my profession.

“I feel like I grew up there as a player and as a person and made my home there and met my wife there and just a lot of different things.”

For as a lot because the Rays imply to Longoria, it’s tough to overstate what he meant — and nonetheless means — to Tampa Bay.

Longoria’s arrival in 2008 coincided with their transformation from cellar-dwellers into perennial contenders. As the face of Tampa Bay’s franchise, he received the ‘08 American League Rookie of the Year Award, made three All-Star groups, obtained three Gold Glove Awards at third base and earned AL MVP votes in six totally different seasons.

“To me, personally, it meant a lot just having a guy that’s kind of been there, done that. A veteran [who had] been there through a lot of times and helped create a lot of good times,” mentioned Cash, crediting Longoria for serving to him get acclimated as a first-time supervisor in 2015. “He meant a lot to the organization and, I think, still does.”

Longoria stays the franchise’s all-time chief in a lot of statistics, together with video games performed, runs, homers and RBIs. He was additionally the writer of among the most memorable moments in franchise historical past, none extra unforgettable than his game-winning dwelling run in Game 162.

As additional proof of Longoria’s place in Rays’ historical past, contemplate that no person has worn his No. 3 since he was traded. It’s honest to imagine that no person else ever will, both. That honor isn’t misplaced on the 37-year-old third baseman.

“It’s never been something that I thought about, like, ‘Oh, I don’t want somebody to ever wear it again.’ But the thought of having a number retired in the big leagues is also something that is very cool,” he mentioned, smiling. “I think that it’s something that I wouldn’t take lightly. But it would probably hurt if they gave it to someone else, I’m not going to lie.”

Whenever he retires, Longoria is a lock to be named to the Rays’ new workforce Hall of Fame. But he was thrilled that the primary inductee was the late Don Zimmer, who had an amazing influence on him as a younger participant.

As a quirk of the schedule, Longoria nonetheless has not returned to Tropicana Field since he was traded. He acknowledged that doing so could be “pretty special,” particularly if he might achieve this sporting a Rays uniform.

“I would love to be back there, because I feel like it would be special,” he mentioned. “I’ve lots of people that also message me on Instagram and say, ‘We’d love to see you come back,’ and I might do it for that cause, simply because it made any person there joyful for me to be again and put that uniform on once more, in no matter capability it’s.

“It doesn’t need to be a player, it doesn’t need to be a coach, whatever. If I just come back and throw out a first pitch, whatever it is, it would be a memory that I know myself and my family would cherish — and, hopefully, whoever else comes out to the game, [it makes] their day, too.”