ST PETERSBURG, Fla. — In sports, there is always a debate about who is the greatest of all time — but for the Tampa Bay Rays, that debate starts and ends with one name.
Chris and Teresa Kingslay, Rays fans in attendance, had no hesitation when asked.
"Who's the best Ray of all time? It's Evan Longoria," the Kingslays said.
Jadah and Bill Borte echoed that sentiment.
"Number 3, Evan Longoria. Absolutely. Come on, yes, this is an exciting day. I'm super excited for this," the Bortes said.
The Tampa Bay Rays officially retired Evan Longoria's No. 3 in a ceremony at Tropicana Field, where the upper deck was open as the team and fans paid tribute to the Rays legend.
The line out the door was not just for Longoria — the Rays were also giving away a Longoria bobblehead to fans.
The 10 years Longoria spent at third base for the Rays created memories for fans of all ages. Anne Tirrell was just 5 years old when Longoria made his debut in 2008.
"I think half the people that are here today would not be here if it weren't for Evan and what he did for the club," Tirrell said.
When the left-field doors opened and the familiar violin from his walk-up song played, there was not a single person sitting. Longoria, surrounded by his family, got to see the new permanent home of his No. 3 — hanging right next to his former coach Don Zimmer's No. 66.
"I'm trying to hold in the emotions as best I can, you know, outwardly, but inwardly I mean I think you know the Rays, they've been planning this for so long, you know, and the details were all super special," Longoria said.
But after an emotional weekend, Tampa Bay 28 reporter Blake Phillips asked whether there was any desire to return to the field.
"Any chance of you a comeback? Phillips asked.
"No, God, no. I saw the,. I see these guys pitch now and it's just incredible the stuff that these pitchers can do. So I'm, I'm, I'm done," Longoria said.
Longoria joins Zimmer and Wade Boggs as the only Rays to have their numbers retired. No. 3 is the 4th number retired at Tropicana Field, alongside Jackie Robinson's universally retired No. 42.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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