Evan Longoria

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Evan Michael Longoria

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 2", Weight 210 lb.
High School St. John Bosco High School
School Rio Hondo Community College, Long Beach State University
Debut April 12, 2008

Born October 7, 1985 in Downey, CA USA

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1 Biographical Information
2 Notable Achievements
3 Related Sites

[edit] Biographical Information

Evan Longoria is an infielder who made his major league debut for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008.

[edit] Amateur Career

Longoria lettered four years at St. John Bosco High School. He batted .400 with six home runs as a senior, and was named to the All-Serra League team.

Longoria transferred to Long Beach State from Rio Hondo Community College after his freshman year. He was not drafted after high school and Long Beach State was the only four-year school to offer him a scholarship. In 2005, Longoria hit .320 and led the Dirtbags in hits, RBI and stolen bases. That summer, Longoria played second base for the Chatham A's in the Cape Cod League. After leading the league in home runs (9), RBI (35), slugging percentage (.500) and extra-base hits (16), Longoria was named the league's Most Valuable Player. Baseball America named him to the 2005 College Summer All-America Team, and he emerged as a premium draft prospect.

In 2006, Longoria led the Big West Conference in on-base percentage (.468) and slugging percentage (.602). He was named the 2006 Big West Co-Player of the Year and became just the second Golden Spikes Award finalist in school history, the other being Jered Weaver. Longoria was also the highest draft pick in school history.

[edit] Minor leagues

Longoria was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft with the third pick. He progressed through the minor leagues quickly, reaching AA after 36 games as a pro. In his first full week at AA (ending on August 13, 2006), Longoria was awarded the Southern League's Offensive Player of the Week distinction.

In 2007, Longoria entered the season as the best prospect in the organization, and seventh in baseball according to Baseball America. He led the Southern League in slugging percentage (.528) and OPS (.930), and was named the league's Most Valuable Player. He was also a mid-season and post-season All Star, Offensive Player of the Week for the week ending on June 25, 2007 and Player of the Month in May.

In the 2007 Futures Game, Longoria started at third base and batted third for the U.S. He doubled off Rick Vanden Hurk in his only at-bat and was hit by a pitch by Fautino De Los Santos.

Evan played for Team USA in the 2007 Baseball World Cup, hitting .289/.289/.500. He split third base and DH duties with Andy LaRoche. He scored two runs in the USA's 6-3 win over the Cuban national team in the Gold Medal game; it was the first time Team USA had ever beaten Cuba in the Gold Medal game of a Baseball World Cup.

[edit] Major Leagues

Longoria was an invitee to the renamed Tampa Bay Rays' spring training in 2008 and impressed everyone with his skills, both at the plate and in the field. He seemed to have won the job as the team's regular third baseman, but was sent down to AAA on the camp's last week as Willy Aybar was proclaimed the team's regular. Most observers saw this as a ploy to delay Longoria's major league debut by a few months, in order to set back his arbitration clock. The controversy faded quickly, however, as Aybar was placed on the disabled list with a hamstring injury 10 days into the season and Longoria was called up to replace him; ironically, he was only hitting .136 for the Durham Bulls at that point, while Aybar had started off well, hitting .292 with some power. Longoria made his debut on April 12 against the Baltimore Orioles, going 1 for 3 with a walk and an RBI. He quickly established himself as one of the best rookies in Major League Baseball, leading the Rays to the best record in the majors by the All-Star break. He was voted to the 2008 All-Star Game as the American League's "Final Man" in a run-off vote against four other players, a sign of the Rays' new-found national profile. He was hitting .275/.348/.513 with 23 doubles and 16 home runs at the time. He missed some time in the second half with an injury, but still finished with 27 home runs and 85 RBI and a .272 batting average and was voted the American League Rookie of the Year after the season.

On October 2, in his first career postseason game, Longoria hit back-to-back home runs in the second and third innings against Javier Vazquez of the Chicago White Sox in his first two at-bats; he hit six home runs ion the first two rounds of the postseason, but was held to a 1 for 20 performance, with 9 strikeouts, in the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.