Centrists

Evan Longoria could soon be baseball’s No. 1 pitchman.

Evan Longoria won’t turn 25 until October, but he already has exceeded all expectations for someone who went undrafted out of a Los Angeles high school in 2003.

• He became an All-American at Long Beach State after spending a year at junior college, and ended up as the third pick in the 2006 draft. He soared through the minors, reached the majors early in 2008 and has established himself as one of the game’s top players.

• He was a unanimous winner of the 2008 AL Rookie of the Year award, has made two All-Star teams, won a Gold Glove and set a rookie record for homers in a postseason (six).

• He averaged 30 homers and 99 RBIs in his first two seasons and started his third season Tuesday night by slamming a monster home run — a 473-foot shot that was the third longest in Tropicana Field history — in his third at-bat.

So what’s next?

Becoming a commercial star, of course.

Even if you don’t see the Rays on national TV much in the coming months, prepare to see a lot of Longoria. He is starring in two ads — one for New Era caps and on for the MLB 2K10 video game (he is the cover boy) — and has a role in a Pepsi spot. All figure to be played often during baseball broadcasts.

Longoria is reminiscent of Derek Jeter, baseball’s foremost pitchman. He has the All-American looks and although obviously confident, he comes across as humble and as guarded as he can be in interviews. Still, you can sense his personality.

He shows this in his role in the New Era commercial in which he plays a James Bond-like character who zooms around Tampa Bay seeking the culprit whom he believes has snatched his cap. While Longoria is not new to the camera, this was the rare instance when he wasn’t wearing his No. 3 jersey. In jeans and T-shirt, he felt the difference.

"When I wear my baseball uniform during a commercial shoot, my comfort level is unbelievable. I feel like I can do anything in my baseball uniform," Longoria says. "When I had to wear my civvies, it made me feel like I was acting."

At one point in the chase, Longoria finds himself on a street trolley walking up to a young blonde. He stops and introduces himself in what is supposed to be "a spoof of Ferris Bueller."

"That was acting," Longoria says. "I would not have done that."

Even though he is young, somewhat rich and famous and still single, he has an image to maintain — and Alex Rodriguez 2008 is not what he has in mind. Longoria, in fact, says he "had to politely decline" participating in a Rays’ promotion in which the club would have given away T-shirts with "Mrs. Longoria" on the back.

"I don’t want to project the image of me having all these women with my name on the back of their shirts," he said. "That’s not something I want out there."

Unlike teammates Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena, who are eligible to become free agents in the fall, Longoria is a Ray for the long haul. He remains under club control through 2016 as perhaps the biggest bargain in the majors. His $950,000 salary for 2010 ranks 19th on his own team.

When Longoria talks about upping his profile, he is quick to point out how he enjoys "getting the Tampa Bay Rays out there."

"So the more opportunities I get to be on a national media stage, I try to take," he says.

For his endorsements to grow, so must his game. Longoria improved across the board in his first full season, finishing 2009 with 33 homers, 44 doubles, 100 runs, 113 RBIs, a .281 average and .364 on-base percentage. Another year of facing the same pitchers should help his pitch recognition, which should allow him to reduce his strikeouts and improve his batting average.

Considering how fast and far he has come since high school, such improvement is as likely as a successful recovery of his cap in his new commercial.

Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.

What to expect in the major leagues today:

Jake Peavy’s focus is on being as dominant as he was last September.

Tough act to follow

Usually accustomed to pitching opening day, White Sox right-hander Jake Peavy took a back seat to Mark Buehrle this season. And it will be nearly impossible to top the performance Buehrle turned in Monday. Not only did he toss seven shutout innings in a 6-0 win over the Indians, Buehrle made what likely will turn out to be the best defensive play by a pitcher all season with his between-the-legs scoop to first baseman Paul Konerko. Although an acrobatic display would be nice, Peavy’s focus will be on beginning 2010 the way he ended 2009 (3-0, 1.35 ERA in three starts for the White Sox).

Ace no longer waiting

More than a few eyebrows were raised when the Dodgers opted to start Vicente Padilla on opening day, rather than left-hander Clayton Kershaw. And Padilla’s performance against the Pirates on Monday (seven earned runs in 4 1/3 innings), did little to silence the naysayers. This evening, however, Kershaw, who led Los Angeles’ rotation with a 2.79 ERA last season, will be on the mound in Pittsburgh. The Pirates are only 81 wins away from their first non-losing season since 1992, thanks in part to two opening day homers from outfielder Garrett Jones. The left-handed hitting Jones batted just .208 against southpaws last season, though six of his 21 hits were homers.

Keep ’em in the yard

St. Louis scored eight of its 11 runs via the long ball Monday, going deep four times against Cincinnati pitchers in the season opener. Seeking to curb the Cardinals’ power, the Reds will turn to right-hander Johnny Cueto this evening. In three starts against St. Louis last season, Cueto posted a 1.76 ERA with no homers allowed. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, its hitters also will face a challenge against 19-game winner Adam Wainwright. 

This story appears in the April 7 edition of Sporting News Today. If you are not receiving Sporting News Today, the only sports digital daily, sign up today.

Chris Bahr is Sporting News’ baseball editor. E-mail him at cbahr@sportingnews.com.

The baseball season is exactly three days old, and already Red Sox DH David Ortiz is sparring with the Boston media.

Big Papi unleashed a profanity-laced rant being asked about his "rough start." He went 0-for-4 against the Yankees on Tuesday and is hitless in his first seven at-bats.

"(Bleep) happens. Then you guys talk (bleep)," Ortiz told reporters, as reported by the Boston Herald. "Two (bleeping) games already. (Bleepers) are going crazy. What’s up with that, man? (Bleep). There’s (bleeping) 160 games left. Y’all (bleepers) go ahead and hit for me."

In Monday’s USA Today, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio bemoaned his low-budget team’s struggles in signing Prince Fielder while the Yankees were spending more than twice as much on salaries.

"We’re struggling to sign (Fielder)," Attanasio told the paper, "and the Yankees infield is making more than our team."

Yankees president Randy Levine apparently didn’t take kindly to the comment. He offered a sharp response Tuesday, according to ESPNNewYork.com.

"I’m sorry that my friend Mark continues to whine about his running the Brewers," Levine told the web site. "We play by all the rules and there doesn’t seem to be any complaints when teams such as the Brewers receive hundreds of millions of dollars that they get from us in revenue sharing the last few years. Take some of that money that you get from us and use that to sign your players.

"The question that should be asked is: Where has the hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue sharing gone?"

The Brewers are expected to spend around $80 million on salaries this season, while the Yankees’ payroll is expected to be around $200 million, according to USA Today. New York infielders are slated to make $85.225 million this year.

While the Yankees’ payroll is about $44 million more than second-place Boston for 2010, the Brewers aren’t exactly paupers. They’re 18th in the majors in payroll entering the season, outspending the last-place Pirates by more than $45 million.

The future Hall of Fame shortstop knows only one team (the Yankees) and only one thing (winning). With a run at a sixth World Series ring under way, he won’t be distracted by talk of anything else.

He could’ve played for the Pirates. Or Royals or Cubs or — imagine it — the Red Sox. He still would’ve been Derek Jeter. But what would Derek Jeter have become?

Jeter’s opinion, in a nutshell: Dumb question. Impossible to answer. And he’s probably right; it’s a half-baked hypothetical one could ponder about any ballplayer. But then, is there anyone else in the game — or all of sports, for that matter — who would look so profoundly out of place in another team’s uniform?

If you believe in destiny, then surely you feel the 35-year-old Jeter was born to play shortstop for the Yankees, the team he rooted for as a boy. He was the A.L. rookie of the year in 1996 and the catalyst that season for the team’s first World Series title since 1978 — the longest drought in Yankees history. A 10-time All-Star, he now owns five championship rings as well as the career records for most hits by a Yankee and most hits by a major league shortstop.

A leader in the realm of Joe Montana, Michael Jordan and Mark Messier, he is arguably the most beloved Yankee since Mickey Mantle and the city’s No. 1 celebrity athlete since Joe DiMaggio. (Jeter’s opinion on his famous love life, in a nutshell: Don’t ask me about it because I’m not answering.)

His contract expires after this season, but that topic is a nonstarter, too. Why? You know, destiny. Once a Yankee and always a Yankee, Jeter spoke at the team’s spring training facility in Tampa with Sporting News’ Steve Greenberg.

Jeter’s happy to discuss his profession but is intensely private.

SN: Reggie Jackson said last spring, "Derek leads the press into an alley that they can’t get out of, with nowhere to go, no signs, no lights on." As metaphors go, that was pretty clever — but do you agree with it?
JETER: (Laughs.) I lead the press into an alley? I would say in terms of my personal life, he’s right on. There’s a difference between what you do as a career and your personal life. I don’t have a problem talking about my profession, but some things you keep to yourself.

SN: Has your experience over 15 years in New York with the media, and all those outside of the game who make demands on your time and sometimes your privacy, taught you anything about the nature of people?
JETER: People are extremely curious about other people’s lives. I think that’s what I’ve learned most. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it; that’s just the nature of society now. People are always curious to know everything about everyone else. People want to know not only what you do on the field, how you perform in the game, but where were you on this night? Who were you with? I guess that goes for both the media and the fans.

SN: Are New Yorkers truly a different breed? Or are people the same everywhere?
JETER: In terms of their curiosity? Obviously, there’s more attention in New York; there’s more media in New York. I don’t think people are different. There’s just more people following you in New York.

SN: In a recent Sporting News poll of general managers, more than half called you the best leader in the game. Certainly you lead by example, but do you also have a gift for reading people and understanding what they need?
JETER: I try to find out about people. You always hear people say, "Treat everyone the same." I don’t agree with that. I think you have to treat everyone fairly, but you can’t treat everyone the same because people have different personalities. You know what I mean? One particular person may react to criticism a little bit different from someone else; one person may react to praise a little bit different from someone else. … You have to spend a lot of time trying to get to know people, trying to know what buttons to push. The challenge is trying to get to know everyone. That’s fun for me, but it takes time.

SN: Among your early teammates in New York, was there someone who really tried to get to know you?
JETER: There were a lot, but the one that stands out is Gerald Williams. When I first came up (in 1993), my first spring training, I was 18 years old. I didn’t know anybody. It’s a little bit different now because I think the older players really take the younger players under their wing, so to speak. When I first came up, some of the older players picked on the younger players. Gerald always looked out for me, took care of me. He was someone who was very positive. In times I struggled, he was there to pick me up. He was the first one, and we’re still great friends today.

SN: Is the game as fun for you as it was when you were a young player? And is it fun for the same reasons?
JETER: For the same reasons, yes, it is. I love to go out there and just play the game. Now, it’s a little bit different when you’re talking about doing it as a profession; there’s a lot more work involved, not a lot of time off, because it’s your career. If the comparison is to when you’re in Little League, the one thing that remains the same is how fun it is when you’re playing the game. It’s the same game whether you’re in Little League or the major leagues. At least that’s the way I look at it.

SN: You had that incredible offensive season in 1999, still your best by the numbers. (Jeter’s career highs in batting average, runs scored, hits, home runs and RBIs all came in ’99.) Are you as good a player now as you were then?
JETER: Yeah. I think you people point to numbers so much, but numbers a lot of times don’t tell the whole story. You can be a better player and not necessarily put up better numbers. So I like to think I’m a better player now. You learn more about yourself, learn more about the game, study the game a lot more; you’ve had more experiences. I think I’m a better player now.

SN: What are the biggest differences — good and bad — in Derek Jeter today compared with back then?
JETER: I don’t know. I never really sit down and try to compare years or compare pluses and minuses. I just try to improve every year, as a challenge. Some years are easier than other years. One thing is, the longer you play, you learn to deal with failure a lot more. I’ve learned to deal with it a lot better.

SN: It’s often been said your impact can’t be measured by numbers, but the numbers — most hits by a shortstop, most by a Yankee, 10 All-Star Games, five World Series titles — have piled up mightily. What’s your No. 1 achievement?
JETER: My No. 1 achievement is being on a team that’s won. That’s it. The bottom line is when you’re competing, you’re trying to win. You can put up all the numbers you want, but if you lose you’re going home that season as a failure. Especially playing a team sport, playing 162 games plus, what, 30 in the spring? Plus the playoffs? You’re playing 200 games with one goal: to win. And if you don’t win, it’s a rough offseason.

SN: What’s the one thing you wish you had a do-over on?
JETER: (Laughs.) I don’t know if I’d do anything over. And the reason I say that is because I think you learn a lot from your failures, and I think that helps define who you are. It’s easy to say, "Oh, I wish I had that at-bat back." You know? But you learn from that. The struggles you go through, the times that you fail, all that makes you who you are. I don’t think I would change anything.

SN: You were a first-round draft pick in 1992. What’s your advice for top picks in all sports — some of whom don’t have such a terrific support system at home as you had — as they deal with such radical changes?
JETER: I would say surround yourself with good people. You only have one chance, one opportunity. I don’t care what sport you play — with the exception of maybe golf, where you can play for 40, 50 years — your career is really only a short time in your life. So you should make the most of it, work hard and surround yourself with people who are going to help you, not hurt you.

SN: You’ve played 14 full seasons in New York, a celebrity ballplayer, free of any real scandal … and now you are knocking on your wooden locker.
JETER: Well, first of all, New York is the only place I’ve known. I’ve been in New York since I was 20 years old. Look, everybody makes mistakes. I’ve made plenty of mistakes. But you have to surround yourself with people who are going to be honest with you. They think you’re doing something wrong, something that’s going to hurt you or other people, they’re going to let you know. You don’t want to surround yourself with people who just say yes all the time. I go to my family first and foremost, and I’ve never wanted to disappoint them — but then again you’re always going to make mistakes. So you have to learn from those mistakes and be willing to surround yourself with people who are going to criticize you, be honest with you, and then you have to be willing to accept it.

SN: Has there been someone with the Yankees who’s been really good for you in that regard? Someone who has kept you grounded?
JETER: I’ve been spoiled. I’ve had a lot of great teammates throughout the years, especially when I was younger. Again, Gerald stands out. Tino Martinez. These are all guys who were there when I came up and I’ve gotten closer to throughout the years. Jorge (Posada), Mo (Mariano Rivera), Andy (Pettitte), we all came up together. They’re like brothers.

SN: Do you think about yourself in terms of race — being biracial in an increasingly biracial society — and what your success and image might mean to certain young people?
JETER: Well, obviously I’m aware of my race. I just think for me it’s always been a positive. I think Ive been able to relate to a lot of different people. I have friends of all different races. I didn’t say, "I’m going to pick this many black friends, this many white friends, this many (Hispanic) friends." I’ve always looked beyond someone’s race. … I’ve talked to a lot of people who have approached me who have kids that are biracial: "My kid looks up to you." It makes you feel good.

SN: Who are the players around the game you most admire?
JETER: There’s a lot of players I like watching play. But for me, talent is not all of it. It’s more how you carry yourself, how you play the game hard. There are so many that I don’t want to mention some and then forget to mention some other ones. I’ll leave it at it has a lot more to do with how you carry yourself, how you play the game, as opposed to what statistics you put up.

SN: Do you have an all-time favorite shortstop?
JETER: I looked up to Cal Ripken. Barry Larkin. Those are the guys. Larkin went to the University of Michigan; I grew up in Michigan. Ripken was the tall one. Everyone used to tell me when I was younger, "You’re too tall to play short," but my first line of defense was, "But look at Cal Ripken!" Those two guys stand out for me.

SN: Have you been more stung or motivated — or neither — by the criticism of your defense in recent years by sabermetricians?
JETER: Criticism is part of the game, especially when you play in New York. It depends on how you respond to criticism. I always take it as a challenge. Some people shy away from it. Some people don’t like it. I’d be lying if I said I liked it, but I take it as a challenge. Every year I try to make adjustments and get better, and that’s what I’m still trying to do.

SN: Should you — a four-time Gold Glover — go down in history as a good defensive shortstop?
JETER: I don’t write the articles, man. People can have their opinions, and they’re going to write what they want to write. I don’t sit around and read it.

SN: Has the Red Sox rivalry simmered down a little, gotten less angry, than it was before the Red Sox won a pair of World Series?
JETER: The tension between the fans has simmered down a little since they won. I think going to Boston, especially, was a lot different before they won and after they won. It seemed they had a lot of years of disappointment, and you could tell. Don’t get me wrong — they’re still intense. But it has gotten a little less nasty.

SN: Do Red Sox fans respect you? Perhaps even admire you?
JETER: (Laughs.) I don’t know about admire. It might be a mutual respect. I’d like to think there’s a respect there. I respect the Boston fans, how intense they are, how loyal they are. They follow every game — very similar to New York fans in that sense — they live and die with their team. I have a great deal of respect for their fans and would like to think it’s mutual.

SN: What’s one thing fans don’t get about the rivalry?
JETER: The one thing I think they don’t get is a lot of people are shocked when you communicate with someone from Boston. They think that you absolutely have to hate the players. When you’re playing them, you want to beat them. But there doesn’t necessarily have to be a hatred toward the players.

Jeter says numbers don’t matter to him, only winning does.

SN: Yankees vs. the field in 2010 — do you have a better-than-even shot to repeat?
JETER: I don’t know. I think it boils down to who is writing that story. Ask 20 people and get 20 different opinions. I’ve never gotten caught up in who’s favored, who’s not favored. I like our team, and I like our chances if we stay healthy. You have to go out there and play. I’m not one for predictions.

SN: Is your confidence level the same as it was each year in the 2000s when you didn’t wind up winning the World Series?
JETER: No. Because going into last year, I said before spring training started that I was as optimistic about that team as I was about any team we’d had in a long time. And we won that year because we added some outstanding pitchers, and if you’re going to win you have to have a good pitching staff. I feel good about this team as well.

SN: What’s the weakness that could derail the Yankees’ season?
JETER: Injuries, and that’s it. You can’t tell what’s going to happen in a long season. You can’t sit down and plan who’s going to get hurt. That’s the unknown that faces every team.

SN: What if you never get that sixth ring? Is it hard to imagine it?
JETER: My mind doesn’t work like that. I think that’s a negative way to look at things. I don’t look at things negatively. It’s always a positive outlook.

SN: Do you hope to be playing baseball at 40?
JETER: Why not? As long as I’m having fun, right? I’m having a blast right now. … I don’t understand why people make such a big deal out of your age. You either feel good or you don’t feel good. People are so into trying to forecast what’s going to happen five or six years down the road. Just try to get through this year first.

SN: Do you know what you’d like to do down the road after you retire?
JETER: Own a team. I want to be an owner. I’d love to be able to call the shots.

SN: There’s no chance you’d have been this blessed had you played anywhere else, is there?
JETER: No chance? Why is that? You don’t know. You do not know, man. There’s no way to figure it out.

SN: I don’t know if we’re headed down that alley now, but seriously, what if you hadn’t been a New York Yankee? What a different world it would be.
JETER: I can’t answer that. Don’t know. I can’t answer that question because this is the only team I ever wanted to play for, the only team I’ve played for. And I just can’t see myself playing anywhere else.

This story first appeared in the March 29 edition of Sporting News magazine. If you are not receiving the magazine, subscribe today, or pick up a copy, available at most Barnes & Noble, Borders and Hudson Retail outlets.

Golf: So now that the golf world has forgiven him, Tiger Woods wants to get the home front back under control, too, PopEater reports, by renewing his vows with wife Elin after The Masters. The source, sounding very much like an agent or PR flak, says, "Tiger knows this will be the most important event of his life. If he has any chance of winning back his fans, and more importantly sponsors, he has to play his best game ever. Then, to strike while the iron is hot, he plans on renewing his wedding vows and finally putting a period at the end of this horrid sentence in his life." Let’s hope Tiger’s pitch to Elin is a little less, uh, calculated.

MLB: This is the same Mark Buehrle who keeps telling Chicago reporters that he doesn’t think he’ll have the desire to keep playing after 2011 and might retire at 32? Here’s what Fly thinks will happen … Buehrle will pull a sort of Brett Favre, retiring so he’s not subject to any tampering claims then signing with the Cardinals, where he always has wanted to play.

• Spies in Las Vegas say Barry Bonds left about 40 pounds behind when he left the majors. Vegas Confidential reports that Bonds looks more like 200 now after playing at 240 in his sluggerific days. Maybe Bonds can advice JaMarcus Russell on diet in his spare time.

Women’s college hoops: Why really smart people should leave sports alone: A Stanford prof says Brittney Griner "Calls our attention to the unnecessary rigidity of sex roles and makes a number of feminist points along the way." Uh, OK. Dr. Terry Castle continues, while asserting that Griner is redefining beauty … "There’s been increased visual and possibly social tolerance, especially in the realm of women’s sports, of individuals who could reasonably be called androgynous." Here’s the thing, doc, we don’t care what you look like if you can dunk and block more than 14 shots in one game. But it doesn’t mean that Griner will no longer have to endure all the "idle internet chatter." We’ll know things have changed when a quick Google search doesn’t spout a gazillion hits for "Is Brittney Griner a man?" or "Is Brittney Griner a lesbian?" Now, if Griner had beaten UConn … who knows.