July 24, 2015

Longoria a franchise player in Tampa

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Step into the zone with Evan Longoria. It is an imaginary place he enters before every pitch – a place where expectations and past failures are not permitted, a place where the only thing that matters is the challenge before him. It could be the bottom of the ninth inning at Boston’s Fenway Park, to do all he can, with his glove, to finish off the Red Sox. He has already blasted a home run over the Green Monster this day, but his work starts anew every time he steps into the zone.

It’s a 4-3 lead with Boston’s Dustin Pedroia at the plate. At the hot corner, Longoria steps into the zone, a place which demands complete focus. His eyes don’t blink, his knees and elbows bent, his weight shifted to the front of his spikes. His mind is embedded in the moment because this is the only moment he can influence. The pitch is a fastball and Pedroia scorches it low, toward left field. Right into the zone. Longoria’s glove flashes open as he reaches to his left; the ball takes one hop, then disappears into the webbing of his glove and he finishes the play with an easy lob across the diamond to first base.

For the part-Ukrainian third baseman (mother Ellie is of Ukrainian descent, father Mike is Mexican), it’s just another out. The perennial All-Star is an impact player offensively and defensively at a position where there is a dearth of great players. When Longoria arrived in Tampa Bay in 2008, the Rays, not coincidentally, went to the World Series and he was the unanimous selection as the American League Rookie of the Year. His potential as a hitter is unlimited and, defensively, he intercepts every ball that comes within a mile of his position. His ability to backhand the ball cleanly is beyond belief.

But there’s more: the quiet, native Southern Californian exudes an innate confidence. It is a competitive ruthlessness lurking just beneath the gracious veneer. He enjoys the stardom and likes the pressure on his shoulders. That is what a superstar is supposed to do because all eyes are upon him. A superstar must want to be special. Longoria always wanted that, even when no major league organization wanted him.

The early years

Step into the zone with Evan Longoria, junior college transfer. In his first year at Long Beach State he was Troy Tulowitzki’s roommate and sidekick. Tulowitzki (a Colorado Rockies All-Star these days) was the star and the shortstop, so Longoria learned to play third base.

In the 2003 MLB draft, 1,480 players were selected; Longoria, then a senior at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif., was not one of them. He did not receive a single scholarship offer from a Division I program. He ended up at Rio Hondo Community College some 12 miles from his home. To him, this was not an obstacle.

At age 15 Longoria decided to dedicate himself to the sport of baseball. He joined a summer wood-bat team, concentrated on hitting drills and lifted weights to strengthen his thin torso. He had a natural inclination to fixing his perceived weaknesses without any prodding from outsiders.

A sports psychology consultant at Long Beach State, Ken Ravizza, taught Longoria how to use structure to find mental relief. The concept was that everything is done through the prism of preparing for success: the way you prepare for at-bats, the way you walk to home plate, the way you forgive yourself after making an out or an error. In good times one can just go with the flow, but on the difficult days, the structure would be there for relief.

After his first season at Long Beach State, Longoria played in the 2005 Cape Cod League against the country’s top amateurs. He led the league in home runs and RBIs, winning the MVP award. Now he was wanted by all the scouts, and in June 2006 he was the third overall pick in the draft. He had transformed himself into a special player, a prime prospect.

A young leader

Step into the zone with Evan Longoria, rookie phenom. He was showered with much fanfare in the spring of 2008, more attention than guys who had played with the Rays for years. The veterans, however, were not offended. The youngster carried himself well, fitting right in as if he’d been in the major league clubhouse for many years. He didn’t want to be the guy with tons of talent everybody dislikes, but came across acting in a most mature way.

The 2008 season started out as a struggle at the plate while with Triple-A Durham. Amid the disappointment and frustration came the call-up to the big league club. He quickly developed a pregame workout routine of weightlifting and conditioning early in afternoons. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound third baseman worked on his defense daily with infield coach Tim Foley, trying to develop fluidity fielding ground balls at the hot corner.

It didn’t take long for Longoria to become a team leader. There’s the story of Rays’ VP Andrew Friedman walking into the clubhouse one day and seeing his third baseman playing “Guitar Hero” at stunning speed, his teammates gathered around.

When struggling, he leans on structure. In August 2008 when he broke his right wrist, he would put on his batting gloves and visualize an entire at-bat, pitch-by-pitch, each time his replacement came up. His mates were impressed with the way their disabled infielder was mentally preparing for his at-bats.

Step into the zone with Evan Longoria in his first postseason. He smashed home runs in his first two playoff at-bats against Chicago. He proceeded to homer in four straight American League Championship Series games against the Red Sox. Scouting reports instructed opposing pitchers to move his feet off the plate with inside fastballs before spinning breaking balls low and away. The effective strategy pulled Longoria into a slump when he went hitless in his first 17 at-bats in the World Series against the Phillies. Before long he eased his way out of his doldrums without panic or more drastic consequences. He nearly homered in Game 3 and singled in a run in Game 5. The introvert had fully evolved.

Step into the zone with Evan Longoria at the start of his second season. Early in spring training when a reporter stopped by Rays camp in Port Charlotte, Fla., to ask Longoria questions about himself, the interview, with teammates nearby, reveals little except for clipped answers. It is clear he is not comfortable talking about himself in front of his teammates, out of respect for them. A super young talent, he has already figured out his place in the game. He can already serve as an example to others of how to do things properly.

Jeter an idol

Step into the zone with Evan Longoria, superstar Tampa Bay Ray, late September 2013 in Yankee Stadium. Way back when Longoria would have been the ideal young veteran star to save the tumbling New York Yankees. George Steinbrenner would have loved someone charismatic, skilled and strong like Longoria on his team. Longoria, who grew up in California as a big fan of Yankees captain Derek Jeter, started out as a shortstop, wanting to be much like Jeter.

Longoria was astute enough to realize baseball has changed in the last 20-30 years, becoming more of a business, where players no longer stay with one team for very long, let alone their entire career. Thus the fascination with Jeter and the respect of his core values Longoria would adopt for his own. He always wanted to be a benchmark player – the player one would think about or associate with an organization.

Instead of planning an escape from an organization that plays in an outdated domed ballpark ranking last in major league attendance, Longoria signed a contract in November 2012 that could pay some $144.6 million and keep him with the Rays for a decade.

At age 27 he dutifully pledged his allegiance to a fan base that would collectively yawn if the team up and left. He thought it was the obvious decision to stay with the same franchise he was given an opportunity to play for at the major league level. It is a franchise that wants to win a World Series title soon.

Sure, there was a time when Longoria wanted to be like Jeter and it seemed like every star player wanted to play for the New York Yankees. Times have changed. Perhaps sometime in the future Evan Longoria will be to Tampa Bay Rays baseball what Derek Jeter is to the New York Yankees.

Ihor Stelmach may be reached at
[email protected]

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