In the two and a half hours between the time the Giants announced they had acquired Evan Longoria and the time Longoria appeared on a conference call with reporters covering the team, the 32-year-old third baseman couldn’t research much.
Longoria spent time talking with his family and chatting with media covering the Rays as well, so he wasn’t exactly well-versed on the Giants’ roster when he was officially introduced as the franchise’s newest addition. In the little free time Longoria did have, he gathered a bit of information that many players in his situation might overlook.
But to Longoria, that information matters. A lot.
During Wednesday morning’s conference call, Longoria revealed he looked up the Giants’ attendance numbers from last season, and was impressed with what he saw.
“It’s a great city,” Longoria said. “I looked at the numbers, the MLB attendance numbers from last year and the Giants, their record wasn’t so great but their fan attendance I think was third overall which is very exciting for me to come to a fan base that dedicated to the team.”
It’s true, both that the Giants’ record wasn’t so great (it was awful) and that the team’s attendance numbers barely trailed off. Though there were far more empty seats at AT&T Park in August and September than anyone is accustomed to seeing, San Francisco still finished third in the Major Leagues with an average draw of 40,785 per game. In other words, more than two times the average number of fans that came to watch Longoria play at Tropicana Field.
Since Longoria entered the league in 2008, Tampa Bay has never averaged more than 24,000 fans per game in a single season, and hasn’t crossed the 20,000 threshold since 2010. To put things in perspective for a Bay Area audience, the Rays have a harder time selling tickets than the Oakland A’s.
So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Longoria was eager to find out how many fans he’d be playing in front of a nightly basis. After 10 years in the Major Leagues, Longoria is the rare star who would be willing to admit he had jitters when thinking about playing at AT&T Park, and it’s not because of how far the fences are set.
“It’s going to be fun, it’s nerve-wracking, I’m not going to lie,” Longoria said. “There’s a certain amount of nerves that I have that are a new feeling. That challenge is welcomed.”
Longoria won’t have much time to adjust to playing on a different coast and in an entirely different atmosphere, because the Giants are depending on him to provide a much-needed spark in 2018. He’ll bring his three Gold Gloves to an infield loaded with elite defensive players, and his right-handed power bat to an order that didn’t produce a 20-home run hitter last season.
“We hope that the fan base and the organization realizes that this affirms our commitment to turn our fortunes around as soon as possible, specifically with the 2018 season,” vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean said. “We check off a huge box with this acquisition. Evan is a known player and quite frankly, you look at his baseball card, we’re getting somebody that’s not only an accomplished third baseman that hits in the middle of the order, he improves our defense overnight, a middle of the order presence that is sorely needed.”
With a contract that runs through 2022 and a track record of almost never taking a night off, Longoria’s resume convinced the Giants to part with top prospect and potential third baseman of the future Christian Arroyo.
Though Arroyo was the franchise’s first round draft choice in 2013 and would have had a chance to make the Opening Day roster in 2018, the Giants are in win-now mode after finishing 64-98 and in last place in the National League West. The addition of Longoria is pivotal for San Francisco because he arrived in a deal that was effectively cash-neutral for 2018, and he comes with a record of consistency and an approach the Giants can build around.
“The consistency of his play, 150-plus games every year and just his overall approach to the game, his presence in our lineup and in our clubhouse is sorely needed,” general manager Bobby Evans said. “A great addition for us and we have high expectations for ourselves, as does Evan and I think this will be a nice addition for us as we go into 2018.”
The Giants are clearly concerned about rectifying all of the issues that plagued them last year, while Longoria is dead-set on becoming a winner. Though he made four playoff appearances with his old franchise, the Rays haven’t visited the postseason since 2013, and don’t have a roster makeup that leads anyone to believe they’ll be back soon. As the arms race heats up between the Yankees and Red Sox in the American League East, Longoria is excited to try to help the Giants’ recapture some of their even year magic.
“It’s an even year coming up and I know that the Giants win in even years so that I am looking forward to,” Longoria said.
While the player and the franchise’s desire to win created a clear match, there are other factors that Longoria thinks will work in his favor. For the first time in his career, he won’t be his team’s centerpiece, as he said he’s looking forward to playing alongside Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey, two proven stars and in Longoria’s words, “two guys that know how to lead a ballclub to a championship.”
“I know that I’m coming into an organization and a group of guys that wants to win, that are committed to winning and there are some veteran leaders in that clubhouse already so I’m just happy to be in a place where all of the weight, or a lot of the weight, doesn’t feel like it’s on my shoulders,” Longoria said. “I’m looking forward to bringing everything that I can to the clubhouse and the organization and being back in the postseason and winning like I expect to do.”
The move also allows Longoria to return home to California, and create a better balance for his wife and kids. A product of Long Beach State University, Longoria grew up in the Los Angeles area, but was quick to note he was more of an Angels fan than a Dodgers fan as a kid, despite having several diehard Dodger fans as friends.
Though Longoria posted a career-low .737 OPS last season, he hit 20 home runs for the fifth straight year and played in at least 156 games for the fifth straight season as well. That kind of durability is valuable to San Francisco, and can be preserved by the fact he’ll be playing 81 home games on natural grass instead of the turf in Tampa Bay.
“I’m excited to play on grass,” Longoria said. “Going on the road was always welcomed so playing in a ballpark that has grass is going to be nice. There’s obviously a lot to learn, a lot of things that are going to be different, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about Boch and I’m sure that he’ll make the adjustment period for myself pretty easy.”
Though there are certainly consequences San Francisco could face after trading away a young, controllable asset like Arroyo for a veteran who could decline as his contract increases in value, the Giants are banking on Longoria leading a push back into contention in 2018.
The franchise began the offseason with short-term concerns about its outfield, its third base situation, its bullpen and its power deficiency, and by trading for Longoria, Evans added a player who addresses several issues. A three-time All-Star, Longoria enters an unfamiliar situation where he’s no longer “the guy,” but just another veteran tasked with forcing the Giants back into the conversation in the National League West.
“I think when you talk about the elite third basemen of the game, Evan is going to be there,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Just has been one of the most consistent all-around third basemen in the game and as was touched on, we got better. He improves our offense, improves our defense, you look at our infield and to have Evan at third, Crawford, Belt, it’s going to be one of the best infield defenses in the game. He’s just so durable and he’s out there every day and that’s becoming a rare thing in today’s game.”