Evan Longoria Wins Gold Glove Award
11/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Nov. 10, 2009
Long Beach, Calif. - Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria became the first Long Beach State alum to earn Major League Baseball's top defensive honor, earning his first Gold Glove award.
One season after winning the American League Rookie of the Year award, Longoria picked up some more impressive hardware, earning the American League Gold Glove for Third Base as announced by the league on Tuesday. Longoria led all third basemen by turning 43 double plays and had 302 assists, second in the American League. His fielding percentage of .970 was also second-best in the AL.
The two-time All-Star is the fourth-youngest third baseman ever to win the award, and is the youngest to win the award at any position since Oakland's Eric Chavez in 2001.
Gold Glove awards are given to the top defensive player at each position for both the American and National Leagues. The award is chosen by managers from each team, who cannot vote for their own players.
