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For Longoria, It's Glove At First Sight

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By JOEY JOHNSTON

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 2, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - With Rays rookie Evan Longoria, it's easy to become intoxicated with the numbers. Some of them haven't been seen in decades.

He had a .531 slugging percentage (.543 is the all-time record for a rookie third baseman, by Al Rosen 58 years ago). He had a three-homer game (last achieved by a rookie third baseman, Eddie Mathews, 56 years ago).

He was an All-Star, a participant in the Home Run Derby. At times, his bat carried the worst-to-first Rays, who open the American League playoffs today against the Chicago White Sox. And he did it all with the nerve and poise of a veteran player.

"Flat-out, Evan has been amazing," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

Really, the numbers could stand alone.

But you complete the picture with moments. Diving, bare-handing, leaping, scooping, throwing, game-saving moments.

To fully appreciate Longoria's game, it's glove at first sight.

Baseball people - we're talking experienced men who usually aren't given to hyperbole - already think Longoria's defensive prowess belongs in a league of its own.

Brooks Robinson, Mike Schmidt, Graig Nettles and ... Evan Longoria?

Believe it.

Don Zimmer, the Rays' senior adviser, certainly does.

"I've never seen anyone play third base better than this kid," Zimmer said. "I've been in this game for 60 years. And I'm telling you, he's really something."

Nettles, the former Yankee, has taken notice. Especially when hearing Longoria say a batting title would be "cool," but winning a Gold Glove would be "the biggest thrill."

"That's a rare sentiment for a young guy, because many of them seem to like bashing the ball and getting the stats," Nettles said. "Playing defense is work. When I came up, I was told my bat would keep me in the big leagues. I didn't have a position. I feel like I made myself into a third baseman. That's something you do every day, every day, every day."

Longoria knows the drill.

When the first group of Rays takes batting practice, Longoria heads to third for his defensive ritual - 10 grounders to his left, 10 to his right, 10 straight at him, 10 throws across the infield.

There are physical gifts, of course. He is 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, but moves like a man much smaller, even gliding at times, looking like "a shortstop playing third base," according to Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett.

There's the arm, the feet.

But mostly, there's Longoria's mind.

"He just doesn't look like a rookie," Rays pitcher Matt Garza said. "He looks like a guy who has been playing in the big leagues for 10 years."

Nettles, who works spring training for the Yankees, remembers hearing Zimmer rave about Tampa Bay's rookie third baseman. Nettles liked what he saw, made a few mental notes, then tried to watch Rays highlights whenever possible.

"I don't look at the errors, I look at the assists, how many balls did he get to?" Nettles said. "Longoria makes the spectacular play, but I like his fundamentals, his footwork. I like the guys who don't play it safe. There's an art to getting a good hop, and he seems to know that already."

Former Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer, a teammate of Robinson (the "Human Vacuum Cleaner"), remembers feeling secure when a ball was hit to third.

"I'm sure the Rays pitchers appreciate Longoria," Palmer said. "The kid moves well, and he has a gun. And he hits like crazy. He's invaluable.

"Of course, it's premature to put him in the category with Brooks Robinson. But he's on his way."

Rays first baseman Carlos Pena agrees.

He might have the best perspective - and best view - of Longoria's work at third.

"Hard-hit ball down the third-base line, I start running to first and I peek back to see just the bottom of Evan's shoes," Pena said. "He's in a full-out dive. I hear, 'Thump!' The ball is in his glove. I turn around and here comes the throw. I've seen that so much from him. He puts on a show. There can't be many better than him right now."

Offensively, too.

Longoria hit .272 with 27 homers and 85 RBIs in 122 games (he missed 30 games with a fractured right wrist).

"I knew he could hit," Maddon said. "This kind of defense wasn't advertised to me when Longoria was a prospect. I remember in spring training, third-base coach Tom Foley told me he thought Longoria had one of the best backhands he had ever seen.

"Slowly, it has added up for me. Now we all know what Evan is about. He understands defense. He gets it."

He's about numbers, of course.

But even more, he's about moments.

Moments that can take your breath away.

Reporter Joey Johnston can be reached at (813) 259-7353 or jjohnston@tampatrib.com.

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