ST. PETERSBURG -- The next two days at Tropicana Field -- Saturday and Sunday -- will be all about celebrating the greatest player in Rays franchise history, Evan Longoria.
But on Friday, there was another familiar, impactful player in town who was ready to feel the love from the Rays faithful: Mariners outfielder Randy Arozarena.
“I’m very happy to come in here,” Arozarena said via Mariners interpreter Freddy Lllanos prior to the series opener. “This building gave me a lot. I know I have a lot of fans here. There’s a lot of good memories that come by when I step on this field.”
Friday marked Arozarena’s first game inside the Trop since the trade that sent him to Seattle in July 2024. Rays fans welcomed him back with a standing ovation before his first at-bat in Seattle's 7-2 loss. Arozarena went 1-for-4 with a sixth-inning single.
"It was definitely something special," he said afterward.
No player hit more home runs inside Tropicana Field than Arozarena (44) during his time as a Ray. He burst upon the scene as a rookie in 2020 with one of the greatest postseason runs of any player in MLB history, which included ALCS MVP honors as he helped the Rays win their first pennant since 2008.
“Randy did a lot of special things in this building, and he's always a joy to see,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Some of our best seasons, best runs, he was right in the middle of it.”
Arozarena followed up that October for the ages by winning the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2021. He then made his first All-Star team in 2023, which was the same season that “Randy Land” arrived in the left-field seats directly behind Arozarena’s customary position. The 31-year-old remembers sitting with those fans on the day he was traded.
He was very happy to be back for the first time since that day, even if it was in a different uniform.
“I know it’s going to be emotional,” he said before the game. “I love these fans. They gave me a lot.”
Arozarena, who was named an All-Star for the third time in his career last week, has 10 homers, 19 stolen bases and a .286/.378/.453 slash line through 87 games with the Mariners this season. From 2020-24 with Tampa Bay, he compiled 85 homers, 94 steals and a .786 OPS and plenty of good memories with the franchise that acquired him from St. Louis ahead of the 2020 campaign.
“Very grateful for this organization,” Arozarena said. “The Rays organization, they gave me that opportunity to just grow, blossom into the player I was.”