Backbone Man (One Sixty-Two: Day 105)

Writer’s note: One Sixty-Two is a season-long series of blog posts connecting baseball’s major-league players to life’s universal themes. Just as there are 162 games in a season, so there will be 162 posts in this series. Let’s play some ball.

Day One Hundred-Five: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays

Got ‘bone?

The words were printed on a black T-shirt, one that hung in a gazebo behind the West Cape May Municipal Complex. Inside the gazebo stood a group of middle-aged men with guitars and drums, and they were playing a set of bluesy rock songs for dozens of adults and kids sitting and eating on blankets in the field around the gazebo. The men call their group Bluebone, and over the years they’ve developed quite a following in this part of the Jersey Shore. They’ve grown popular enough to warrant more than the usual CD sales at gigs: The band has its own Web site, its own slogan (“Burnin’ Blues & Smokin’ Boogie”) and, of course, its own T-shirt design (with apologies to the California Milk Processor Board).

When I saw and heard Bluebone play on a recent night, it was at the delightful West Cape May Farmers Market, one of the hidden gems of the Jersey Shore summer season. For $7, I had a dinner of crab cake and freshly picked cherry tomatoes. If I’d wanted, I could have added such delights as peach cider, barbecued chicken and fresh jam to my grocery list. The sun was out, the breeze was delightful, and the music was, well, bluesy.

My mom, who is a big fan of Bluebone, was digging the tunes, which featured a mix of covers and originals. But while my mom might splurge for the new Bluebone CD, Devil Keep Chewin’, I doubt that she will choose to walk around the Victorian-Era homes of Cape May wearing a “got ‘bone?” shirt. If she lived in Seaside Heights, maybe. But not here.

Aside from all the R-rated connotations this phrase brings to mind, there are other connections to be made here – other variations on what this pointed question could mean. There’s backbone, for instance. With every group of people who work together, there needs to be someone with the steady skills and intestinal fortitude to lead the way toward success. Many musical groups – Bluebone included – have a member who takes the lead in writing lyrics and singing vocals. At most of our workplaces, we can name individuals who keep the ship sailing by constantly delivering help and guidance when it’s needed.

On the diamond, every baseball team has a player or two who serves as the club’s backbone. The last-place Kansas City Royals look to pitchers Zack Greinke and Joakim Soria as backbones, as these two men show their teammates that you don’t have to be on an elite team to perform at an elite level. At the other extreme, the first-place Tampa Bay Rays have a backbone of their own. He’s a third-year player who mans third base better than anyone in the American League while also driving in runs, hitting for power, and stealing bases. He is Evan Longoria, and this season fans voted for him over Alex Rodriguez to start at his position in the All-Star Game. Longoria has quickly become one of the most productive players in the game, and he is the backbone behind the ballclub that is tied with the Yankees for the best record in baseball.

Despite the similarity of his name to that of model and Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria, the Longoria of baseball is much more grit than glitter. From the moment he arrived in the Show, Longoria has been one of those guys who just knows what it takes to win. It’s no coincidence that the Rays went from last-place castoff to playoff squad in Longoria’s first season as a big-leaguer. This season, the Rays are well on their way to a second postseason visit in three years, while their third baseman is well on his way to a top-10 finish in the league Most Valuable Player voting.

Many baseball players have nicknames; Longoria’s is “Longo.” It seems we cannot avoid the sexual connotations today. So let’s just come out and say it – Longo has got ‘bone. And that, my friends, seems to have made all the difference in Tampa Bay.