White channels Longoria with homer at childhood ballpark

ST. PETERSBURG -- Tommy White’s favorite childhood baseball memory from growing up as a Rays fan is easily Evan Longoria’s walk-off home run against the Yankees in the final game of the 2011 season, which clinched the American League Wild Card for Tampa Bay.

In a full-circle moment about 15 years later, playing his first series as a big leaguer in his hometown of St. Petersburg, White experienced that same sensation Longoria felt while rounding the bases on that legendary night.

Facing Rays starter Nick Martinez in the third inning of Wednesday night’s 4-3 A’s loss at Tropicana Field, White launched a solo home run that landed to the right of the foul pole just beyond the left-field wall, nearly the exact location as Longoria’s. And yes, he was fully aware of what felt like a bit of divine intervention as soon as he watched it land.

“The first thing I thought about when I rounded first on that home run was that I hit it in the same spot as Evan Longoria in Game 162,” White said. “It was like, ‘Holy cow, this is actually happening.’ It was really cool.”

There was an audible roar inside the ballpark as soon as White’s ball left the yard. That noise emanated from a section just beyond the A’s dugout that was bought out by his father, Tom, and filled with countless friends and family members decked out in green and gold.

White’s supporters showed up, and the 23-year-old rookie infielder showed out by notching a three-hit night, his 10th multi-hit game and sixth game with three or more hits this season.

“My whole family came out,” White said. “They rented out a big section. It was cool to be able to do some stuff in front of them. I know they were going crazy. Really cool to be able to play in this stadium of my hometown team growing up. It’s definitely something I’ll remember for a long time.”

The homer going out to left field was fitting. Long before he became the college baseball star known as “Tommy Tanks” at LSU, little Tommy and his family lived about 15 minutes from Tropicana Field and owned season tickets for years in left field, where he had a clear view of his favorite Rays player, Carl Crawford.

“I think of all the memories that my dad and I shared here,” White said. “I fell in love with the game in this stadium.”

Elite bat-to-ball skills have been the standout trait for White since his callup to the Majors in July, and that skill was fully on display in the buildup to that homer. It was a 10-pitch at-bat in which Martinez threw the kitchen sink, with White fouling off seven pitches – anything from cutter low and away to sinkers up and in and everything in between – before connecting on a changeup on the inner half of the zone for his third career homer.

“Big night for Tommy,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “Getting him a start here at home, to have that type of night, I’m sure he and his whole section were pretty happy about that.”

If things had gone according to plan for the A’s this season, White, a 2024 second-round Draft pick, likely would not be up here right now. Due to a rash of injuries to stars such as Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson, White received his first Major League opportunity sooner than expected and has held his own, now batting .259 in 46 games while seeing time at both third base and first base.

“He’s done a nice job,” Kotsay said. “Any time a young player gets to the big leagues, there’s always a desire to go out and perform at your best to be able to stay here. He’s handled it pretty nicely. He’s got a lot of work to do, which is great. … I think this is only going to benefit him in the long run, especially going into next season.”

There was a worry earlier this month that White might join that long list of injured A’s after he came down with back tightness that kept him fully out of action for a week at the beginning of September. Fortunately, White said he feels like he’s gotten past that, feeling back to normal for this final stretch of the season.

“I feel like myself again,” White said. “I finally got my bat speed and feel at the plate back, so I’m super excited about that.”