Long Beach State University Athletics
Longoria Named AL Rookie Of The Year
11/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Nov. 10, 2008
Long Beach, Calif. - Former Dirtbag and Rays All-Star Evan Longoria added more hardware Tuesday as the third baseman was named the Jackie Robinson American League Rookie of the Year as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. Longoria was the unanimous winner.
Longoria, 23, made his major-league debut on April 12 with the Tampa Bay Rays and made his first All-Star team after starting in 103 of 104 games after his promotion.
Despite missing 30 games with a fractured wrist after being hit by a pitch, Longoria led Major League rookies with 27 home runs and a .531 slugging percentage. In addition, his 85 RBI, 60 extra-base hits and 238 total bases led all American League rookies.
Though voting for the award was conducted prior to the postseason, Longoria's efforts with the Rays did not end with the team winning the AL East pennant. Longoria set a rookie record with six postseason home runs, doubling the previous record while leading the Rays to their first World Series appearance.
Longoria becomes the second Long Beach State player to win the Rookie of the Year award. In 2004, Oakland A's Shortstop Bobby Crosby won the AL award after hitting .239 with 22 home runs in his debut season. Last year, Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting, just two votes behind winner Ryan Braun.
