Evan Longoria
Evan Longoria is the current third basemen for the Tampa Bay Rays, Major League Baseball team. He was born as Evan Michael Longoria in Downey, California on October 7th, 1985. His long and successful baseball career started in high school where he lettered two years in a row. He played at St. John Bosco and was chosen for the All Sierra League's first team. His college career started in Rio Hondo where he played shortstop until receiving a scholarship to Long Beach State. It was here that Longoria switched to playing third base and he soon became a star player.
In 2006, Evan Longoria was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays. He spent a brief time with the Single A minor league team, the Hudson Valley Renegades, before moving on to the Visalia Oaks. From there he moved up to the Double A Montgomery Biscuits. He later made his Triple A debut with the Durham Bulls.
After a successful run in the minor leagues, Longoria made his major league debut on April 12th, 2008. His first home run came just two days later. Four days after that he was signed to a six year contract for 17.5 million dollars. In July of the same year he was voted by fans to appear in the All-Star Game. In his first post season game on October 2nd, he hit two home runs in his first two at-bats. He ended the season as the American League Rookie of the Year.
In the 2009 season, Evan Longoria achieved his 100th RBI. He ended the month of April as the American League player of the month after winning player of the week two times. He achieved 131 runs in just his first 162 games as a Tamp Bay Ray. His popularity continues to grow and he was once again selected for the All-Star Game of the 2009 season.
