Three-time all-star 3B Evan Longoria was just traded this morning to the San Francisco Giants after spending all ten of his MLB seasons thus far with the Tampa Bay Rays. After coming off another gold glove season and hitting .270, the 32-year-old Longoria still has plenty to contribute to a contending team. Let’s take a look at his current net worth.
Evan Longoria Net Worth As Of 2017: $30 Million ($11.5 Million Annual Salary)
As a senior in high school, he was a first-team All-Serra League selection. Despite this, he was not highly recruited due to his 6’1″, 170 lbs. body. After being considered too slim for Division I baseball standards, Longoria spent his freshman year at Rio Hondo Community College where he played shortstop. There, Longoria earned first-team All-State honors and was offered a scholarship by Long Beach State University. He transferred to L.B.S.U. during his sophomore year and hit .320, earning All-Conference honors. Because LBSU’s current shortstop was future Rockies all-star Troy Tulowitzki, Longoria was moved to third base that season. In just two years at Long Beach State, Longoria put on some muscle and left the school measuring 6’2″ and 210 lbs. Prior to the 2006 M.L.B. Draft, Longoria was dubbed the best “pure hitter” among college players in his draft class by Baseball America. At third overall, he was the highest draft selection in school history and the Tampa Bay Rays gave him a $3 million signing bonus.
Minor League Career
Longoria continued to have success in the minor leagues and after just eight games with the Single-A Hudson Valley Renegades, he advanced to the Visalia Oaks. With the Oaks, he impressed the organization by immediately hitting .327 with 8 home runs and 28 RBI’s in just 28 games. After earning the Most Valuable Player award with the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits in 2007, Longoria was again advanced to the Triple-A Durham Bulls in 2008. Months later, he finally got the call to the big leagues after an injury to the Rays’ Willy Aybar.
Tampa Bay Rays Career 2008-2017
On April 12th, 2008, Longoria went 1 for 3 with an R.B.I. in his major league debut and went on to win the American League Rookie of the Year for the season. Over his ten year career, Longoria has batted .270, and collected 1,471 hits, 261 home runs and 892 R.B.I.’s, with his best hitting years being his first three seasons in the majors. In 2008, he also helped the Rays win the American League, but fell to the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series. Longoria is also Tampa Bay’s all-time franchise leader in home runs, R.B.I.’s and doubles as of his 2014 season, passing Carlos Pena in the first category and Carl Crawford in the latter two. In the past, Longoria has used “I’m Broken” by Pantera and currently is using “Down and Out” by Tantric as his at-bat song.
Personal Life
The similarity of his name with actress Eva Longoria has brought about playful comparisons between the two. Although both are Americans of Mexican descent, they are not related. When asked as a college baseball player in 2005 about the name similarity, he admitted that he got “ragged on it a lot, but I don’t mind. My friends and I think she’s hot”. After he was named to the 2008 All-Star Game roster, Eva sent Evan a bottle of champagne and a note thanking him for “doing the Longoria name proud”. In return, Evan sent Eva three signed jerseys. The name similarity between Evan and Eva has led to some heckling by opposing fans against him.
Evan Longoria was named the cover athlete for the video game “Major League Baseball 2K10”, succeeding Tim Lincecum. Longoria also appears in a commercial for the game that advertises a $1 million prize given to the first person to pitch a perfect game in MLB 2K10. In the commercial, Longoria breaks up a perfect game with a home run. On August 8, 2010, Longoria broke up a no-hitter in the ninth inning with two outs. Longoria spoiled Brandon Morrow’s attempt with a putt-shot to the Blue Jays’ second baseman, who was unable to make a play on it.
