Longoria OK with third fiddle
Former Face of Tampa Bay Rays intends to follow example of Posey, Bumgarner
SAN FRANCISCO >> The first thing Evan Longoria did after getting traded to the Giants last month was fire off texts to Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner.
He wanted the Giants’ mainstays to know that this was still their club. The Face of the Franchise in Tampa Bay will be happy to be a face in the crowd in San Francisco.
“I’m here to follow the example that you guys have set over the years,’’ Longoria told them.
The three-time All-Star recounted that exchange Friday at AT&T Park where, for perhaps the last time, he had the spotlight to himself. The Giants introduced their new Gold Glove third baseman on a day when winter was in the air but spring was already on peoples’ minds.
The center field scoreboard crackled with a message aimed for 2018: “Welcome Evan Longo-
“This is a veteran team and there are some very established players. I think I’m smart enough to figure out where I fit in there. The goal is not to ruffle any feathers. The goal is to make this transition as seamless for everybody.”
— Evan Longoria, new Giants third baseman
ria #HelloLongo.”
This was his first news conference since being acquired Dec. 20 as part of a deal that sent Denard Span and Christian Arroyo to the Rays. After he donned his No. 10 jersey, these were the highlights of Longoria’s getto-know-you session.
On how he sees himself fitting into the Giants’ clubhouse:
“This is a veteran team and there are some very established players. I think I’m smart enough to figure out where I fit in there. The goal is not to ruffle any feathers. The goal is to make this transition as seamless for everybody. I’ve been through the process of having a lot of turnover over the years in Tampa and I know that it’s difficult. … It’s like being at a new school and trying to slide in under the radar.”
On the jolt of leaving Tampa Bay after 10 seasons:
“It was very emotional. Being in one place for that long, having your family rooted in the community — those things didn’t disappear in one day. Thankfully, the Rays organization was great about keeping me informed. Although they didn’t have to be, they were very open during the process and allowed myself and my family to kind of prepare for the change. So I’m very appreciative to them for that.”
On being able to play his home games on a natural surface:
“I hope it helps. I know that playing on the road, my body definitely feels much better when I play on grass. And so I’m sure that it will help. … Playing on turf is something that crossed my mind very early on when the trade happened.”
On hitting in a spacious, pitcher-friendly ballpark:
“It’s a baseball stadium. It don’t think it’s going to be that big of a deal. The goal is to score runs, and I think the offense that we put together is going to be able to do that. Home runs and those things come, especially in a lineup with the potential that this one has.”
On his reaction to the Giants adding center fielder Andrew McCutchen:
“From what I hear, he’s very similar to me. He’s made a huge impact in the community he’s coming from. He’s made a huge impact on players, both young and veterans. He’s got nothing but a great reputation. All of those things are very important and, I think, make everybody confident that he can be a great fit here.”
On getting away from domed Tropicana Field as his home ballpark:
“Outdoors in front of fans, you can’t beat it. It doesn’t compare. No disrespect to The Trop. I enjoyed playing there. … But the environment here is obviously much different, so it’s going to be nice to step into that on a daily basis.”
On whether MLB should institute a pitch clock to solve the pace-of-play issue:
“If you are in the seventh game of the World Series and you have a clock on a guy trying to make the biggest pitch of his life — and you’re telling him to hurry up — there’s something wrong with that. It would be like taking the play clock in the NFL and cutting it in half. That’s compromising the integrity of the game. The product that you see I think would end up suffering, ultimately.”
He says he learned to focus on his glove work at Long Beach State.
“The head coach there was Mike Weathers,” Longoria said. “We spent more time defensively than we did offensively, every day. There was just a ton of emphasis put on catching the ball and throwing the ball. And we really couldn’t do anything until we did that perfectly.
“That ballpark in particular, at Long Beach State, is probably the worst ballpark to hit in for all of college baseball. So this will be familiar territory, playing in a big ballpark.”