BOSTON -- Pound for pound, nobody in the Tampa Bay clubhouse commands as much respect as Sam Fuld, a fourth outfielder who'll be lucky to reach 100 at-bats this season.

Fuld returned to Fenway Park on Tuesday, and though he wasn't given the star treatment inside the visiting clubhouse — B.J. Upton got the most spacious locker area — it was clear how much this Durham native means to the Rays.

“He plays the game hard. That's the undeniable bright spot in his game — the ability to play the game at 110 percent all the time. I think he's very similar to Dustin Pedroia by the way he gets the most out of his ability,” Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria, a three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner, said. “There are a lot of guys with similar qualities, but I can tell you he's got a lot of drive. He's not sitting here watching TV. He's out there preparing for the game.”

Longoria's favorite Legend of Sam Fuld moment? It wasn't the home run or near-cycle at Fenway Park last season. It was a “Web Gem” against the White Sox in which Fuld robbed Juan Pierre with a diving catch in right field last season.

“Going towards the wall, diving on the warning track. He got himself all bloodied up. It goes back to the way he plays the game,” Longoria said. “As a player, you always want to go hard, but the fact of the matter is you don't want to get carted off the field on a stretcher.”

The 30-year-old Fuld wasn't in the starting lineup Tuesday and hadn't played since suffering a hamstring strain against the Yankees on Sept. 16. The former Phillips Exeter Academy standout had never been hobbled by a sore hamstring, so when he tweaked the muscle against the Yankees, he attempted to continue playing through the pain. And tweaked the hamstring even more.

It's really the only way to play for Fuld, who would never remove himself from a game, not after spending six years in the minors. When other players might shy away from the outfield wall, Fuld, generously listed at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, simply ignores it.

“Sometimes it's like I have tunnel vision for the ball and whatever gets in the way, gets in the way. That may be stupid thinking, but I also know that I can't afford to not play that way. I wouldn't be here right now if I didn't play that way,” Fuld, batting .273, said before Tuesday night's game. “I'll never lose sight of that, and I'll never change the way I play. If you're an undersized guy without a lot of physical gifts like myself, I don't think there is any other way you can get to this level. If my kid ends up being the same type of ball player as me, I'll be extremely proud.”

Ex-Fisher Cats second baseman Ryan Roberts, acquired by the Rays in a July trade, said Fuld could be a starter on numerous teams in the majors.

“He brings great energy. You'll always get a competitive at-bat from him, and he plays great defense with all those 'Web Gems.' He's just an all-around good player and a really good guy to have coming off the bench,” said Roberts, nicknamed “Tat Man” around the majors for his countless tattoos.

Fuld is expected to see playing time tonight in the final game of the season at Fenway Park. Tampa Bay brought a five-game winning streak to Fenway Park, seeking to overcome a three-game deficit in the wild-card playoff hunt.

“Anything can happen until you're mathematically eliminated,” said Fuld. “Hopefully it doesn't come down to the type of stressful situation we had last year (qualifying for the playoffs on the last day), but the way things go around here, I wouldn't be surprised at all.”

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High sock-wearing Jeff Keppinger, a former shortstop for the Keene Swamp Bats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, swatted his career-high eighth home run to give the Rays a 3-0 lead in the first inning Tuesday night. Keppinger raised his average to .331 with a first-pitch homer off Clay Buchholz.

The journeyman was drafted by the Pirates in 2001 and has played for six teams in the majors. Keppinger doesn't have enough plate appearances (387 entering Tuesday) to qualify for the batting-title race. He would need roughly another 100 plate appearances to compete with Detroit's Miguel Cabrera for the American League batting title.

Keppinger has struck out only 27 times this season and ranks as one of the toughest players in Major League Baseball to strike out. As an infielder with the Astros and Reds, he was the most difficult player to strikeout in the National League in 2008, 2010 and 2011. This season, the 32-year-old spent a month on the disabled list after suffering a broken big toe in May.

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Staff writer Kevin Gray covers pro baseball for the New Hampshire Union Leader and New Hampshire Sunday News. His email address is kgray@unionleader.com. Twitter: @graymatter11.