Evan Longoria Will Make Historic Return to World Series With Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks are headed to the World Series, bringing Evan Longoria back to the Fall Classic for the first time since the Tampa Bay Rays went in 2008.

On top of all the history the Arizona Diamondbacks made by knocking off the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 7 of the NLCS on Tuesday night, their veteran third baseman joined one of the most exclusive lists in the baseball record books.

Evan Longoria is headed back to the World Series, 15 years after he made it to the Fall Classic with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008. According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, Longoria becomes the fourth player – and first non-pitcher – to go 15-plus years between World Series appearances.

Longoria joins Jim Kaat, who owns the record with 17 years between his World Series outings with the 1965 Minnesota Twins and 1982 St. Louis Cardinals. Dennis Martinez played in the 1979 World Series with the Baltimore Orioles and the 1995 World Series with the Cleveland Indians, while Babe Adams went to the World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1909 and 1925.

Evan Longoria is back in the WS for the 1st time since 2008

he will be the 4th player, and 1st non-pitcher, to appear in the WS 15+ years after his prior app, joining:

1995 CLE Dennis Martinez: 16 (’79 BAL)
1982 STL Jim Kaat: 17 (’65 MIN)
1925 PIT Babe Adams: 16 (1909 PIT)

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 25, 2023

Longoria has been on quite the journey since he spearheaded the Rays' lineup as a 22-year-old rookie. He played 10 seasons in Tampa Bay before leaving to join the San Francisco Giants.

After five years in the Bay, Longoria switched NL West allegiances by signing with the Diamondbacks last winter.

Longoria was once a pinnacle of health and availability as a member of the Rays, routinely playing in over 150 games a year. That trend started to fade when he moved west, though, and he has only appeared in an average of 81 games a season over the past three campaigns.

The 38-year-old Longoria has started all 12 of the Diamondbacks' games so far this postseason, though, even bouncing back from a brief injury scare in Game 2 of the NLDS to return to the lineup two days later. He is batting .135 with no home runs, four RBI and a .404 OPS in those 12 appearances, however.

Across 16 years and nearly 2,000 regular season games, Longoria has racked up 1,930 hits, 342 home runs, 1,159 RBI and a 58.6 WAR. The third baseman is a career .264 hitter with an .804 OPS.

Longoria hit .223 with a .717 OPS in 2023, blasting 11 homers with 28 RBI.

Prior to this October, Longoria's teams had fallen victim to five consecutive series losses, dating all the way back to the 2008 World Series against the Phillies.

Arizona made quick work of the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers over the past few weeks, however, sweeping both division champions despite barely snagging a Wild Card berth at 84-78. Longoria then got some long-awaited revenge against the Phillies, even if he went just 2-for-19 in the NLCS.

Game 1 of the World Series is scheduled to get underway Friday at 8:03 p.m. ET. Barring a shift from manager Torey Lovullo, Longoria is expected to remain in the starting lineup, vying for his first championship ring.

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