Tonight, another World Series begins and another young Long Beach State product is at the forefront.
Evan Longoria and the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays will host Game 1 of the World Series against the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies at Tropicana Field. The game will air on FOX at 5 p.m.
“For me to be in this situation, I really can’t believe it,” Longoria said after the Rays defeated the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series on Sunday.
“It’s always exciting when one of your ex-players rises to the top and has a chance to play in the playoffs,” Dirtbags head coach Mike Weathers said. “We have experienced this before with [Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy] Tulowitzki last year, so a little bit of the tarnish is off, but it’s always exciting to see your ex-players in there.
“It didn’t go well last year for Tulo, but hopefully for Evan this year, it goes a little better.”
Last October, it was Tulowitzki leading his team to the Fall Classic, but the Rockies were swept by the Boston Red Sox in four games.
Much like Tulowitzki, baseball analysts and fans are praising Longoria’s leadership and maturity as much as his statistics.
In the regular season, Longoria batted .272 with 27 home runs and 85 RBIs despite missing a month with a wrist injury. He was also voted in as the 32nd man for the AL All-Star team.
In the postseason, Longoria has continued his rise to “superstardom,” as diehard Rays fan and ESPN analyst Dick Vitale said on ESPN Radio’s “Mike and Mike in the Morning” on Monday.
Longoria homered in his first two career postseason at-bats. He’s already set a rookie playoff record with six homers, and has teamed up with B.J. Upton to account for 13 of Tampa Bay’s 22 postseason home runs. The front-runner for the AL Rookie of the Year award is also hitting .262 with 11 RBIs in the playoffs.
Despite turning 23 just two weeks ago, Longoria has become a vocal presence in the clubhouse.
Fellow rookie and Rays pitcher David Price, who baffled the Red Sox for the final 1 1/3 innings in Game 7, was seated next to Longoria in the dugout before the ninth inning, the Los Angeles Times‘ Bill Shaikin reported Tuesday.
“This is what you were born for,” Longoria said to Price, who’s actually older than the ex-Dirtbag by six weeks. “This is what you’ve played baseball for your whole life.”
Weathers isn’t surprised by the leadership role Longoria has taken.
In 2006, Longoria was named the co-Big West Conference Player of the Year but the Dirtbags failed to reach the postseason.
“He was kind of a marked guy, so everything was kind of on his shoulders,” Weathers recalled. “I think he really [handled that] burden well. He did a nice job of leading a group of guys who really kind of underachieved. He did his part and tried to carry everybody else. So, I think what you’re seeing is not a surprise to a lot of us.”