Tampa Bay Rays retire Evan Longoria's Number 3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - After being traded from the Rays in 2018, Evan Longoria never got to return to Tropicana Field in any official capacity.
That is, until now.
"I'm trying to hold in the emotions as best I can, outwardly," Longoria said.
"But inwardly, I think the Rays have been planning this for so long."
Evan Longoria #3 retired
The backstory:
A year after Longoria returned to Tampa Bay to sign a ceremonial one-day contract to officially retire from Major League Baseball as a member of the Rays, the man that helped change the course of the franchise returned again to be celebrated inside Tropicana Field.
"The details were all super special," Longoria said.
Walking onto the field to a live performance of Tantric's Down and Out, Longoria's old walk-up song, the franchise leader in home runs, RBIs, runs and games played, watched as former teammate James Shields and former coach Tom Foley unveiled Longoria's Number 3 on the upper deck of the Trop.
"Now that it's up there and it's not going to be worn again is just pretty cool," Longoria said.
Joining the historic ranks
By the numbers:
Longoria's No. 3 joins Jackie Robinson's No. 42, Wade Boggs' No.12 and Don Zimmer's No. 66 as the only numbers to be officially retired by the Rays.
"Being up there next to Zim (Zimmer) is well thought out," Longoria said.
"Every time I come back here, I'll be able to look back and have those same emotions come back because, obviously, Zim was super special to me."
Rays Hall of Fame
Big picture view:
Longoria's number retirement ceremony was just one part of Longo's Legacy Weekend.
On Saturday, Longo became the newest member of the Rays Hall of Fame.
"I'm not kidding you. For six months, I've been trying to prepare myself for this moment," Longoria said.
"I did about as much mental preparation as I could and it still didn't compare."
What's next:
While Longo's Legacy Weekend may be over, the memories made and shared by the Rays' legend will be something that the former third baseman will carry forever.
"Twenty years of just life, basically, culminating in such a special moment is really cool."
The Source: This article is based on in-person interviews and previous statistics on the Tampa Bay Rays.