Tampa Bay Rays ’ Evan Michael Longoria was born on October 7th , 1985 in Downey , California . His father Michael a descendent of Mexico , and his mother Ellie , of Eastern European descent , raised their children in Southern California , in the town of Bellflower . The oldest of 4 kids , Evan had two brothers and a sister , and all were terrific athletes .
Evan attended St . John Bosco High School , where he excelled in baseball and water polo , competing at high levels in both sports , but eventually deciding to give up water polo and concentrate entirely on baseball .
Although Evan ’ s skills in baseball were obvious , his physical stature was a question mark . He stood 5-10 and weighed in at just over 150 pounds . To build up his frame , Evan joined a wood-bat summer league and worked out with weights , Evan ’ s senior year at SJB was a good one . He hit and fielded well enough to be named to the All-Sierra League team as a shortstop . After the season , however , Evan did not get a single scholarship from a Division I school , instead Evan ended up attending Rio Hondo Community College , the school had a decent baseball team , and he wanted to keep playing in college . At Rio Hondo , Evan was the star and there was no one to keep him on the bench . Something seemed to click at Rio Hondo and no one could get Evan “ out ” during the 2004 season . He hit the ball hard almost every time up and earned first-team All-State honors . By that time , Evan had also grown two inched and gained 25 pounds .
The key to Evan ’ s game is in the quickness of his hands , they produce great bat speed and balance , and a smooth stroke that doesn ’ t look like he ’ s swinging hard . The ball explodes off his bat . Those same hands enable Evan to gobble up shots at third base . Evan has been an impressive defensive player since the day he arrived to the majors .
In January , Longoria joined Bo Jackson , Yogi Berra , famed musicians Huey Lewis and Michael Bolton , golf legend Arnold Palmer and many others for the 50th Bob Hope Chrysler Classic played at four courses in Southern California . His team placed tied for 16th among the 128-team amateur field . Longo ’ s rounds : 78-79-82-85 . He played with actor Jeffrey Donovan ( Hitch , Come Early Morning , Believe in Me ). This past offseason Evan became an official spokesperson for The Sporty ’ s , a DVD series featuring a team of lovable animated characters being taught about baseball ( e . g . strike vs . ball , fair vs . foul ), teamwork and sportsmanship by the voice of Academy Award-nominated actor Michael Clarke Duncan as “ Stitch ” the ball . The series will educate kids about the fundamentals of baseball in an entertaining and fun way .
Over his first three professional seasons his teams have compiled a 223-156 (. 589 ) record with him on the squad and he ’ s won three championship rings : two from the Southern League ( 2006-07 ) and his American League jewel . He came within one out of winning a fourth ( International League , 2007 ). Evan went from being undrafted in high school , to Rio Hondo Junior College to becoming the highest player ever drafted out of Long Beach State ( 3rd overall pick in 2006 ).
Evan ’ s 2008 Career Highlights Included : After six games in the majors , signed a contract worth a guaranteed $ 17.5 million over 6 years and potentially $ 44 million over 9 years . The contract is the longest contract in club history , both in guaranteed and in potential years . Evan will donate up to $ 725,000 to the Rays Baseball Foundation over the life of the deal , and part of his donation went toward the renovation of the Azalea Park Little League field in St . Petersburg . Evan was named the 2008 American League Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America and received all 28 first place votes , becoming the 7th AL rookie to win the award unanimously . Evan also became the first Ray to win a national BBWAA award . His 27 home runs were the most by an AL rookie in 11 years , and set Rays club records for a third baseman in HR , RBI , 2B , SLG ( while actually playing the position )... his . 531 SLG placed 5th all-time in Rays history .
Evan was named to the AL All-Star Team after winning the “ Final Vote ” fan ballot with a record 9 million votes , becoming the youngest Rays position player ever to make the club .
Let ’ s Go Rays !