Former Rays outfielder Rocco Baldelli took out a half-page ad in yesterday's St. Petersburg Times, thanking Tampa fans for their support.

Courtesy of The St. Petersburg Times

The letter was written in his own hand. The sincerity was apparent.

It was meant for an entire community. It was as classy as it gets.

It read: "To the fans of Tampa Bay: Nine years ago you welcomed me into your community. You greeted me as a name and embraced me as a person, and I leave you now as a friend.

"Giving thanks is a difficult thing to do as I have crossed paths with so many extraordinary people, but I will try.

I will always think of the Tampa Bay area as my second home and I would like to thank everyone for accepting me and for making my time here as enjoyable as it was.

I will never forget.

Thank you once again."

Signed: Rocco Baldelli.

That's the note the Rhode Island native and newest Red Sox outfielder placed in The St. Petersburg Times as a half-page ad.

"It was a thought I had the last couple of weeks," said Baldelli. "I thought about it with my family and friends, and they thought it was something I should do. I just thought it was the right thing to do. I wanted to make it personable. I didn't know exactly how I wanted to do it. I thought about writing a note on paper by hand would be a nice way to do it."

Baldelli wrote it and sent it to a friend to make sure it sounded appropriate because he hasn't written anything in 10 years. He wanted to make it real. He did.

The 27-year-old Cumberland resident was originally drafted by the Rays in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2000 draft and has spent his entire career in the organization. Once Tampa's 2008 season ended with a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series, Baldelli officially became a free agent and eventually signed with the Red Sox.

While working out at home, preparing for spring training as the fourth outfielder in Boston, Baldelli didn't forget how his major-league career started.

"It is a very classy thing to do and very typical of Rocco," said Rick Vaughn, the vice president of communications for the Rays. "He was an inspiring, beloved figure here in Tampa Bay and this was such a dignified way to show how much it all meant to him. All of us with the Rays are intensely proud of the man and player he has become."

Now he is a Red Sox.

"It's been a little different," Baldelli said. "It means as though there are more local people are interested in talking to me now, maybe people who may not have been interested in talking to me before. I can't wait to meet my new teammates and go from there."

Even before he was a student at Bishop Hendricken High School, he was a very humble and private person. But he showed his sincerity and passion for the game of baseball and the community that adopted him.

Now he'll be playing for the hometown team. The team he grew up watching. But he'll always be a Ray.

"It's where I got my start," he said. "I have a lot of friends, and I will always have some friends down there, so it will always be a special place for me."