Evan Longoria and the Rays Battle Baseball’s Evil Empire

At first glance, there wouldn’t appear to be many similarities between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees. The Yankees regularly top the league’s payroll, shelling out $206 million in player salaries to lead the way once again in 2010. This year the Rays have climbed to number 21 on the list and their payroll is still barely a third of New York’s. The Yankees make a habit of throwing as much money at as many big names as possible, landing blockbuster free agents every offseason as opposed to developing their farm system. Tampa Bay, on the other hand, has been led this season by homegrown talents Evan Longoria (3b, drafted by Rays in 2006) and the AL’s All-Star Game starting pitcher, David Price (drafted by Rays in 2007). The Yankees also happen to be the most storied franchise in baseball, if not all sports, and have won a record 27 World Series titles. The Rays only became a Major League team in 1998 and lost in their only World Series appearance. Yet despite these seemingly overwhelming differences, at the All-Star break both teams share one important trait: winning games.

The juggernaut Yankees currently hold only a two game lead in the AL East over the little guys from Tampa. But that could easily change; the two will faceoff to begin the second half of the season starting tonight at Yankee Stadium. However, don’t think that because of their small market status the Rays are some fluke underdog, they are in fact legitimate contenders who many have picked to win it all this year. Tampa Bay has shown that with good management and some draft savvy it is possible for smaller organizations to compete with the billion dollar empire in the Bronx, much to the recently-deceased George Steinbrenner’s dismay.

Evan Longoria spoke with us at the 2010 ESPN the Magazine “ESPY Style Suites” about the challenge of battling the Yankees and holding of the Boston Red Sox in the second half of the season. He was a cool and humble dude and definitely came off as the kind of guy you want leading your baseball team.

As previously mentioned, much of the Rays success is due to a man who until recently was more often confused with a Desperate Housewife than recognized as a superstar himself. But Evan Longoria, of no relation to Mrs. Tony Parker, is well-deserving of recognition in his own right. After being drafted by the Rays in 2006, Longoria tore through the minors and needed only six days as a major leaguer before being signed to a long-term contract extension. He has been an All-Star for all three of his MLB seasons and in 2009 won both a Golden Glove and Silver Slugger Award for his outstanding play at third. We caught up with Longoria at the ESPN the magazine ESPY style studio and heard his thoughts on being responsible for the American League losing their first All-Star Game since 1996, battling the Yankees, and Lebron coming to play in his hood.
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Brett Phelps is a regular writer for The Golden Sombrero who splits most of his time between the Land of Enchantment and the Biggest Little City in the World and contributes weekly to You Been Blinded. Known in other circles as Slo-Mo and Captain Buck Nasty, he is a wandering gypsy and amateur conspiracy theorist. He likes skiing, getting thrown out of sporting events, and long walks on the beach. He hates being in handcuffs, as this is usually a sign he will spend the night in jail. Any questions, comments, concerns, love or hate mail can be sent to him at brettsta04@yahoo.com