Today's Dirtbag alumni is third basemen, Evan Longoria, of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Longoria was born on Oct. 7, 1985 in Downey, Calif. He attended St. John Bosco High School where he lettered on varsity baseball for two years. After playing shortstop for one year at Rio Hondo Community College he was offered a scholarship to Cal State University Long Beach.
Longoria had to make the move to third base because shortstop had been taken by former Dirtbag Troy Tulowitzki. According to the Boston Globe, Longoria had an MVP summer season with the Chatham A's in the Cape Cod League before sharing Big West Player of the Year honors in 2006 with CSULB.
Longoria was called the "best pure hitter" by Baseball America in the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft where he was selected third overall by Tampa Bay Rays.
After a quick stint in the Minor Leagues, Longoria made his Major League debut on April 12, 2008 against the New York Yankees where he got his first hit and RBI. Two nights later he got his first home run.
Longoria ended up with a .272 batting average with 27 home runs and 85 RBIs in 2008, earning him the American League Rookie of the Year according to MLB.com. He also set a rookie record with four home runs in a post season series.
Longoria enters the 2010 season with a career .277 batting average with 60 home runs and 198 RBIs. He is also featured on the cover of 2K Sports Major League Baseball 2K10, a video game released on March 2, 2010.
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