BIOGRAPHY
Evan Michael Longoria was born on October 7, 1985, in Downey, California. He is a third baseman in the MLB.
Longoria's father is of Mexican descent and his mother is of Ukrainian descent. He attended St. Raymond Catholic School in Downey, California. St. Raymond did not have a baseball team. He graduated from Saint John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California. He was a two-year letterman in baseball and as a senior was a first team All-League selection. Longoria did not receive any scholarship offers to play college baseball. The University of Southern California was the only program to consider him, but eventually backed out of recruiting him. At 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) and 170 pounds (77 kg), many baseball recruiters felt Longoria was too slim by NCAA Division I baseball standards. As a result, he attended Rio Hondo Community College during his freshman season, before Long Beach State offered him a scholarship.
After high school, Longoria attended Rio Hondo Community College, where he played shortstop. In his freshman season, Longoria earned first-team All-State honors and was offered a scholarship by Long Beach State University. He transferred to Long Beach for his sophomore year and hit .320, earning All-Conference honors. Because Long Beach State already had an established shortstop, Troy Tulowitzki (who became a four-time all-star over a 13 year MLB career), Longoria played third base.
Following a successful MVP summer in 2006 in the Cape Cod League with the Chatham A's where he played second base, Longoria shared the Big West Conference Player of the Year honors (with Justin Turner) during his junior year at Long Beach State. When he first started attending Long Beach State University, he majored in kinesiology. However, he switched to the Department of Criminal Justice because it was somewhat less time-consuming and, therefore, would not interfere with the baseball schedule as much.
In just two years, Longoria transformed his thin stature into a 6-foot-2 and 210-pounds by the end of his LBSU tenure.
Longoria was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays as the third overall pick in the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. Longoria was called the "best pure hitter" among college players in the 2006 draft class by Baseball America. He was the highest draft selection in school history. Tampa Bay gave him a $3 million signing bonus.
On April 18, the Rays signed him to a six-year, $17.5 million contract with options for 2014, 2015, and 2016. The first six years of the contract cover his arbitration years, with three more years added by team options. If the team exercises its one-year option for 2014, and then its two-year option for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, the deal could be worth up to $44 million. There is a general consensus that this contract is among the most team-friendly, in terms of dollars per Wins Above Replacement, in Major League Baseball.
After the 2008 season, Longoria was honored with Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award for the American League, as well as the American League Rookie of the Year Award. He became the fourth third baseman to win the award. He also became the sixth player and the first since Nomar Garciaparra in 1997 to win a Rookie of the Year Award unanimously. He was also named the third baseman on the Topps Rookie All-Star Team.
On December 20, 2017, the Rays traded Longoria and cash considerations to the San Francisco Giants for Christian Arroyo, Denard Span, Matt Krook, and Stephen Woods.
On May 5, 2018, Longoria hit a double to mark his 1,500th career hit in an 11–2 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
On August 21, 2020, Longoria reached 300 MLB career home runs. In 2020, he batted .254/.297/.425 with 7 home runs and 28 RBIs in 193 at-bats. He was 2nd among NL third basemen with a .984 fielding percentage.
On July 16, 2021, Longoria was placed on the 60-day injured list with a left shoulder sprain, and he missed half of the season. In the 2021 regular season, he batted .261/.351/.482 with 13 home runs and 46 RBIs in 253 at-bats.
In the 2021 regular season, he batted .250/.308/.405 with 26 runs, 7 home runs, and 20 RBIs in 220 at-bats. He played primarily second base, with five games at third base.
On January 5, 2023, Longoria signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
