| Evan Longoria | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Longoria with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2017 | |||||||||||||||
| Third baseman | |||||||||||||||
| Born: October 7, 1985 Downey, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| April 12, 2008, for the Tampa Bay Rays | |||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||
| October 1, 2023, for the Arizona Diamondbacks | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .264 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 342 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 1,159 | ||||||||||||||
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Evan Michael Longoria[1][2] (born October 7, 1985), nicknamed "Longo", is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, San Francisco Giants, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Longoria played for the Long Beach State University baseball team, was the CSN Bay Area 2005 Cape Cod League MVP, and was named the 2006 Big West Conference Co-Player of the Year. He was drafted by the Rays in the first round as the third overall pick in the 2006 MLB draft. After two seasons in the minors, he made his major league debut for the Rays in 2008, and was named to the American League team for the 2008 MLB All Star Game. Longoria was also named the 2008 American League Rookie of the Year.[3] He made the All-Star team three times, being selected from 2008 to 2010. Longoria appeared in two World Series, first with the Rays during his rookie season in 2008, and later with the Diamondbacks during his final season in 2023. The 15-season gap between Longoria's two World Series appearances is the longest for a position player in MLB history. He had one of the biggest hits in Rays' history when he hit a 12th-inning walk-off home run in the last game of the 2011 season, snapping a tie with the Boston Red Sox in the race for the American League wild card spot, and sending his team into the postseason.
Longoria was known for his acrobatic defense, having won three Gold Glove Awards at third base, in 2009, 2010, and 2017. Longoria owns many Rays franchise records, including the career records for games played, runs, doubles, home runs, runs batted in, walks, and Wins Above Replacement, and is thus often considered the best player in the franchise's short history.[4]
- ^ "The legend of Evan Longoria grows with unreal playoff debut". Yahoo! Sports. September 3, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ^ "Rays, Longoria reach deal – 9 years, $44-million". St. Petersburg Times. April 18, 2008. Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- ^ "Tampa Bay Rays' Longoria wins AL Rookie of the Year, Geovany Soto wins NL award". New York Daily News. The Associated Press. November 10, 2008. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- ^ "Tampa Bay Rays Top 50 Career Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com.