ST. PETERSBURG — Evan Longoria, the greatest player in Tampa Bay Rays history, will be inducted into the Rays Hall of Fame on Saturday and have his No. 3 jersey officially retired on Sunday at Tropicana Field, capping a “Longo Legacy Weekend” that marks 20 years since the franchise drafted the third baseman with the third overall pick.
The weekend festivities will feature the upper deck open at Tropicana Field for the first time in years. Longoria signed a ceremonial one-day contract to retire with the Rays last year, setting the stage for the twin honors.
The story of how Longoria landed in Tampa Bay traces back to June 6, 2006, when R.J. Harrison, then in his first year as the Devil Rays’ scouting director, received a phone call from Rockies scouting director Bill Schmidt while on a treadmill at the Hampton Inn & Suites in downtown St. Petersburg. Schmidt told Harrison that Colorado had agreed to terms with Stanford right-hander Greg Reynolds, the second overall pick. With the Royals already locked in on pitcher Luke Hochevar at No. 1, Longoria would fall to Tampa Bay at No. 3.
“It was one of my favorite phone calls I’ve ever gotten,” Harrison recalled. “We were in a pretty jovial mood when we went over to The Trop on Draft day in 2006.”
The pick came during a period of sweeping change for the franchise. It was the club’s first draft under owner Stuart Sternberg, the first with Andrew Friedman running baseball operations, Harrison’s first as scouting director and Mitch Lukevics’ first as farm director. The front office had entered the draft cycle focused on pitching, narrowing its targets for the third pick to four college arms and Longoria.
“There was really good pitching at the top half of the first round, and we were dead set we were going to add an arm to our young position player mix,” Friedman said. “As the spring went on, Longo just kept climbing the board.”
Longoria’s path to the draft was unconventional. Undrafted out of high school, he spent a year at Rio Hondo Community College before transferring to Long Beach State, where he starred in the Cape Cod League in 2005 and continued to shine during his junior season. Area scout Fred Repke developed a close relationship with Longoria through the scouting process, and Harrison came away from a lunch meeting convinced. “I felt like I had known him for a long time,” Harrison said. “It was just that easy. He was just that engaging.”
“A couple weeks before the Draft, we were all Longo,” Friedman said. “What are the chances he gets to 3?” The Rockies, who had third baseman Ian Stewart from the 2003 draft and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki — Longoria’s Long Beach State teammate — from 2005, appeared set on the left side of the infield. But Longoria worked out for Colorado at second base, leaving the Rays anxious. “Please, please don’t be a good second baseman,” Friedman recalled thinking. “Fortunately, he wasn’t a good second baseman. They took Greg Reynolds, and we got Longo.”
Longoria agreed to a $3 million bonus and flew to Tropicana Field, where he dressed out and took pregame batting practice with the Devil Rays. “It wasn’t very good,” Harrison said, laughing. “He wasn’t ever a good BP guy.” Friedman had a stronger reaction: “I’m like, ‘Oh my God, did we get a lemon? That’s what you do here?!’”
Those fears proved spectacularly unfounded. Longoria dominated the low Minors, reached Double-A in his debut professional season and arrived in the Majors in 2008, winning American League Rookie of the Year as the cellar-dwelling Devil Rays transformed into the consistently contending Rays. He authored the “Game 162” home run in 2011, widely regarded as the most unforgettable moment of one of the greatest days in baseball history.
“His arrival and our ascension into being the organization that we’ve become over the last 20 years is no accident,” said Harrison, now a senior adviser in scouting and baseball operations for the Rays. Friedman echoed the sentiment: “The impact that he had on the field is pretty obvious. The impact he had on our culture, I think, is still paying dividends today.”
Longoria’s Hall of Fame induction is scheduled for Saturday, with the No. 3 jersey retirement ceremony to follow on Sunday at Tropicana Field.