Rays' Longoria wins Gold Glove at third base

Evan Longoria became the Tampa Bay Rays' second consecutive corner infielder to win a Gold Glove when he was announced as the American League selection at third base on Tuesday.

Carlos Pena won the AL Gold Glove at first base in 2008. He was the first Rays player in team history to earn the award.

Longoria, who turned 24 after the season ended, is the youngest to win an AL Gold Glove at any position since Oakland Athletics third baseman Eric Chavez (age 23) in 2001. Since the Gold Glove was first awarded in 1957, only three third basemen have won it at a younger age: Brooks Robinson (age 23 in 1960) of the Baltimore Orioles, Scott Rolen (age 23 in 1998) of the Philadelphia Phillies and Chavez.

"It's the one award that I've wanted to win since I started pro ball," Longoria said. "I take a lot of pride in my defense, so this award is very special to me. It's humbling to have your name associated with some of the great players who have won a Gold Glove, especially the third basemen."

"I would like to thank the managers and coaches who voted for me and I'd also like to thank Carlos Pena. We all know how good he is. He probably saved me at least five errors this year so without him the award might not have been possible."

In 2009, Longoria was one of five major league third basemen to start 150 or more games. His .970 fielding pct. ranked second among AL third baseman behind Melvin Mora (.971) of the Baltimore Orioles.

His 43 double plays led all major league third basemen and his 302 assists ranked second in the AL. Longoria became the first third baseman in club history to start more than 120 games in a season. The Rays had used 34 different starters there before his arrival in 2008.

The other winners Mark Buehrle (pitcher) of the Chicago White Sox; Mark Teixeira (first base) and Derek Jeter (shortstop) of the New York Yankees; Placido Polanco (second base) of the Detroit Tigers; Joe Mauer (catcher) of the Minnesota Twins; Ichiro Suzuki (outfielder) of the Seattle Mariners; Torii Hunter (outfielder) of the Los Angeles Angels; and Adam Jones (outfielder) of the Baltimore Orioles.