Teams Become Desperate for Longoria
by Heather Gripp, Baseball America
May 27, 2006 The inevitable question about his bloodlines continues to pop
up, but Evan Longoria's baseball future has quickly turned into a more
popular topic of conversation.
The Long Beach State junior third baseman has seen his stock soar in the
past year, as he's gone from a virtual unknown to MVP of last summer's Cape
Cod League to being considered one of the top position players available for
this year's draft.
"I think he's the best player we've seen all across the board this season,"
Cal State Northridge coach Steve Rousey said.
"He's definitely one of the premier players on the West Coast, and probably
the country," UC Irvine coach Dave Serrano said. "In Southern California we
see a lot of outstanding players. He's right up there with previous (Long
Beach State) guys like (Troy) Tulowitzki and (Bobby) Crosby, or all the ones
that came through Cal State Fullerton like Shane Costa, or USC's Jeff
Clement. He's that good."
The one thing Longoria is not, for the record, is related to Eva Longoria,
the actress of "Desperate Housewives" fame. As much as his buddies like to
joke about the shared last name that prompts frequent inquiries, the only
thing in this Longoria's blood is an extreme work ethic and passion for
baseball.
"He made himself what he is today with his hard work," said Mike Salazar,
who coached Longoria as he began to blossom as a freshman at Rio Hondo
(Calif.) Junior College. "He'd call me to hit in the summer and always put
in extra work and wanted to get better. He was like a sponge--you give him
information and he'd just soak it up.
"He just loves baseball and it was very infectious."
Longoria ended up at Rio Hondo after a good, but not great high school
career at St. John Bosco High in San Diego. Not only was he undrafted, no
Division I colleges wanted him.
"I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be in the position I'm in now,"
Longoria said. "So all the stuff about the draft, I don't really worry about
that . . . I can't complain where I go, because it's more than a dream come
true."
Longoria was an all-state shortstop at Rio Hondo, batting .430 with eight
home runs and a conference-high 64 RBIs. Still, Long Beach State was the
only Division I college to provide a scholarship offer, and that was fine
with Longoria, who was happy to stay close to home.
The Dirtbags got an immediate payoff when Longoria filled in at shortstop
last year while Tulowitzki, the eventual seventh pick overall in last year's
draft, missed 25 games because of injury. Longoria spent the rest of his
time at third base and finished his sophomore season batting .320 with a
team-high 30 RBIs and five home runs.
Then came the Cape Cod League, where Longoria led the league with eight home
runs and 35 RBIs in addition to hitting .299.
"The Cape was kind of a big turning point," Longoria said. "I'd never played
with big-time players like that before. You realize, 'I am playing with
these guys and I'm holding my own.' It gives you a lot of confidence, and
playing with that type of talent makes you elevate your game."
The sudden surge in attention hasn't slowed him this season. He went
7-for-11 with four walks in three games early in the season at the Houston
Coca-Cola Classic against Lamar, Rice and Oklahoma. Longoria was batting
.362/.481/.622 with 11 homers and 43 RBIs after 53 games, playing against
one of the nation's most difficult schedules and in the hitter's graveyard
that is Blair Field.
"He was the single reason we lost to them," said Serrano, whose team was
swept in a Big West Conference series as Longoria batted .455 with two
homers. "What he did with his bat and his glove, he singlehandedly beat us.
He hurt us more than any single player this year. In the three games we saw
him, he definitely lived up to his billing."
Long Beach State coach Mike Weathers describes Longoria as someone who
benefited from physical and mental maturity and who rapidly improved through
hard work, rather than someone who was overlooked. Weathers and others note
that with the crowd of talent in Southern California, it isn't unusual for a
late bloomer to slip under the radar.
Not used to being a star, Longoria doesn't act like one. His teammates call
him a team-first leader on the field, and just one of the guys who hangs out
and plays video games with them off the field. Playing for a program that
has had four first-round draft picks in the past five seasons helps make his
success seem normal around campus, and gives Longoria plenty of sources who
can relate to what he's going through.
"To go from being a nobody to someone who gets a lot of recognition so
quickly, it's kind of weird," Longoria said. "It's kind of cool when people
know you and say hi, but it's not that big of a deal . . . I don't think I'm
that well-known. And honestly, I'm thinking more about the team and what I
can do for them."
Heather Gripp covers college baseball for the Los Angeles Daily News. |
