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Ex-Rays star Longoria dons Giants jersey, looks forward to full-stadium environment in San Francisco

Longoria was introduced today in San Francisco, where he will wear No. 10 since 3 is retired.
 
Evan Longoria was formally introduced by the Giants. [Twitter]
Evan Longoria was formally introduced by the Giants. [Twitter]
Published Jan. 19, 2018|Updated Jan. 19, 2018

Longtime Rays star Evan Longoria was formally introduced in San Francisco today, adding the visual of him pulling on his new Giants jersey, switching to No. 10 since 3 is retired.

Longoria said he welcomed the chance to play on a contending team stocked with veterans (and has also added Andrew McCutchen), that – having seen so much turnover from his time with the Rays – had reached out to several of the Giants stars to make clear he was there to win and fit in, and that he expected a "seamless" transition. "I think I'm smart enough to figure out where I fit in there," he said. "The goal is not to ruffle any feathers."

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He mentioned again it was emotional to be traded, and thanked the Rays for keeping him informed during the process.

His only pointed comments about his 10 years with the Rays came when asked about leaving the sparsely attended Trop to playing at typically sold out AT&T Park.

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"Outdoors, in front of fans, it doesn't compare," Longoria said. "No disrespect to the Trop, and I actually enjoyed playing there because nobody wants to play a game in 100 degrees in the middle of summer in Florida. …
"The environment here is obviously much different. It's going to be nice to step into that on a daily basis and play in front of a fan base that is obviously very storied, It definitely helps with energy, it helps with motivation. … We are entertainers, and at end of the day fans want to see the best product you can put out there on a daily basis. It makes it a lot easier when the stands are full."