Power Ranking: Top 5 Tampa Bay Rays of All-Time

1. Evan Longoria

If there is one name synonymous with this organization, it’s Evan Longoria. Longo’s first three seasons in a Rays’ uniform resulted in three straight All-Star appearances. While he may not have exceeded some of the lofty expectations set for him after such a stellar start to his career, he was undeniably a sensational player during his decade in Tampa Bay.

He holds many of the franchise hitting records including belting 261 home runs (almost 100 more than the next highest player on that list) and knocking in 892 RBI over the course of his Rays career. His offense wasn’t the only highlight of his game as he was truly a complete player, known for his acrobatics over on the hot corner winning three Gold Gloves.

While many thought that Longoria would be a Rays’ lifer, he was ultimately traded to the San Francisco Giants in late 2017 in exchange for Christian Arroyo, Denard Span, Matt Krook, and Stephen Woods. Longoria ended up having the worst year of his career in 2018, hitting .244 with 16 HR and 54 RBI which were all career lows. A far cry from where he was in his prime with the Rays.

At 34, Longo still has some years left. If he can put together a few solid seasons he might be the Rays’ best hope for gaining their first representative in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

2008-2017, 3x All-Star, AL Rookie of the Year 2008, 3x Gold Glove, Silver Slugger 2009
.270 BA  261 HR  892 RBI .823 OPS  49.8 WAR

Does your top-five list differ? Let us know how and why in the comments!