Evan Longoria Signs Long-Term Deal With Rays

He's played a total of 6 Major League games and gotten 6 hits in 20 at-bats. For the Tampa Bay Rays, that's good enough to give Evan Longoria a nine-year deal worth at least $17.5 million.

Six years of the deal are guaranteed. The team has options for three more years and, if picked up, this still wet-behind-the-ears rookie could make $44 million for the life of the contract.

He hasn't even been in the League for a month and he's getting paid? Yes, and it's a good thing. Why? Because there's a young kid somewhere in an inner-city neighborhood who's trying to decide if he should devote his time to baseball or to another sport where the payoff is quicker. Seeing Longoria get his long-term deal so soon just might help a kid decide that he wants to be a professional baseball player.

Congratulations Evan Longoria and here's hoping this is a trend that continues.

The Lady