Remembering Longoria's decade in Tampa Bay

On June 6, 2006, after the names of pitchers Luke Hochevar and Greg Reynolds were announced via conference call as the first and second overall selections in Major League Baseball's entry draft, the Tampa Bay Rays decided to take a Long Beach State Dirtbags third baseman with the third pick.

Evan Longoria, 20 years old at the time, was immediately gifted with a $3-million signing bonus and, surprisingly, signed a six-year, $17.5-million contract a week into his first big-league season. What at first looked like a risky move by Tampa's front office is to this day considered one of the most valuable contracts ever signed by a major leaguer.

More than 10 years later, on Wednesday, the Rays parted ways with the franchise figurehead, trading him along with cash to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for a package of four players, including top prospect Christian Arroyo and veteran outfielder Denard Span.

"It's obviously a tough day for myself and my family," Longoria told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times after the trade was made official. "I don't blame them (the Rays). I feel they feel they are in a position where they need to make some drastic changes."

During his decade-long tenure under the domed roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., Longoria cemented himself as the franchise's all-time leader in more than two-dozen statistical categories, including games played, plate appearances, runs scored, home runs, and WAR among position players.

Longoria donned the Tampa uniform when they were still known as the Devil Rays, blossoming into one of baseball's finest third basemen under the tutelage of Joe Maddon before the skipper departed for greener pastures in the Windy City.

In 2008, his rookie season in the majors, he was the American League's Rookie of the Year, recorded a three-home run game (he recorded another in 2012), and was an All-Star for a Rays squad that reached the World Series for the first and only time in franchise history.

They lost that showdown to a juggernaut Philadelphia Phillies squad featuring Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins, and while Longoria struggled during his first World Series at-bats, he put himself on the map during the ALDS and ALCS (11 hits, 10 runs, six home runs), recording eight RBIs in seven games to help eliminate the Boston Red Sox in the championship series.

Over the next five seasons, Longoria never posted an OPS below .842, appeared in two more All-Star games, won two Gold Gloves, and finished in the top 20 in MVP voting four times.

Sure, "Longo" had some down years in 2014, '15, and '17, but for seven of his 10 seasons, he was an elite player who the AL East is certainly glad to be rid of.

Career vs. AL East

While Longoria returns to his native California with a presumably heavy heart after leaving the only franchsie he's ever known, he'll leave a gigantic hole in the hearts of Tampa baseball fans.

No player was more loyal to the franchise than him. Through losing seasons, empty seats, and the departure of many of the team's finest players, the 32-year-old, who left college as a Dirtbag and blossomed into a superstar, was a mainstay at the hot corner for Tampa - a player so beloved that even the city's mayor wanted to express his feelings about his departure.

The Evan Longoria era in Tampa Bay is over, and while fans wipe away their tears and get ready for another rebuild, at least they'll always have this to remember him by: