It's hard to describe the intangibles and leadership qualities that a player provides to a baseball team, especially when the on-field stats might not say he's a strong player anymore. However, no one can argue that Evan Longoria has had a huge impact on this young Arizona Diamondbacks team. He's been a leader and veteran mentor to a team that has surpassed all expectations and reached the World Series. His impact goes far beyond his surface stats. Now, at age 38, 15 years removed from his last appearance in the World Series with the Tampa Bay Rays as a rookie, he finds himself in the Fall Classic once again. This time, he's a grizzled veteran who can still impact a game with his bat or glove.
Longoria has hit just .135 over his 12 postseason games so far, but he has two doubles, three RBI, and three walks. Longo's had a penchant for a big hit in a clutch situation like against the Phillies in Game Six when his RBI double in the second inning drove him Alek Thomas and made the score 3-0. A score that the Phillies would never recover from.
Plus, he's had a huge impact with his glove so far. He's made hard plays look easy such as the Wild Card series-defining double-play he made against the Brewers as he jumped and snagged a line-drive and threw to second base. A play that no one would expect a 38-year-old to make, he made. Just like this Diamondbacks team.
Longoria also just happens to be one of eight players to make the World Series, the All-Star Team, and win Rookie of the Year. His teammate, Corbin Carroll, figures to be the 9th in a week or so after he wins the Rookie of the Year. Longo spoke that on and said "he definitely deserves it. I don't get tired of doing interviews about Corbin. He's carried us. He's been so special. He's probably the best young player that I've ever been around. Top to bottom, as a leader in the clubhouse, a guy as prepared as anybody, cares as much, and put all of that into action."
Longoria hasn't had to help Carroll through the pressures or the whirlwind of the postseason and accolades because he noted that Carroll has a great group of people around him like his parents and his fellow young teammates.
After making his first World Series in his rookie year, he "just assumed that I would continue to get back at some point and I never thought it would've been 15 years later."
When comparing his Rays team that went to the World Series to this D-backs team, Longoria mentioned that he "saw that was really cool to see was our odds this year were the longest odds since the 2008 Rays to make it to the World Series... 65-1 odds... I think that Rays team was probably a little bit more of an underdog story just because we had never been out of last place before that for a lot of years... This year, there was definitely a significant amount of surprise over what we were doing but I look at it from my perspective playing for the Giants the last couple of years that I could see this coming more than that 08' Ray team...Internally, there was little bit more expectations for this team."
Evan Longoria and the Arizona Diamondbacks will be taking on the Texas Rangers tonight, Friday the 27th of October, at 6:08 p.m. AZ time in Game One of the World Series. The D-backs are seeking to win their first Championship since 2001.
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