Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria may live in the shadow of his Maxim cover girl surname-doppelganger, Eva. But, don't look now: He's on the cover of stuff too - namely MLB 2K10.

That's what two years of gangbuster results at the plate gets you nowadays. Evan won Rookie of the Year honors in '08, helping the Rays emerge from bottom-feeder status to overtake the Yankees and Red Sox on the way to the World Series. Coming off a 33 HR, 113 RBI '09 campaign (for which he won a Silver Slugger Award), Evan has also solidified himself as one of the premier corner infielders in the major leagues, garnering his first Gold Glove trophy.

Not bad for someone who hasn't even reached his quarterlife crisis yet. And, now, he's on the cover of 2K Sports' upcoming baseball video game, which we hope mirrors Longoria's lack of suckage. We interrupted his fine dining at a West Coast cabana—lay off the cheese, Longo...spring training's just around the corner!—and asked him all of our burning questions.

MAXIM: Hey, Evan. What's going on?
EVAN LONGORIA: Everything's pretty good really. I'm in a cabana right now!

So, we guess after the season you've had, you deserve the whole being-fed-grapes-and-fanned-by-palm-leaves treatment...
They're gonna bring out the menu and we just might order grapes and cheese.

Bon appetite. So, we know you're going to hate us for being the 9683495634th publication to ask about the connection, but Eva Longoria has been on our cover and No. 1 on our Hot 100 list twice. How does it feel to be part of a long line of Longorias to be on the cover of stuff?
[Laughs] It feels good. It was definitely one of my more proud moments when these guys gave me the news and I was able to start working with them on the production of this game. It's an honor.

Now with the Eva Longoria question out of the way, we're going to do a sort of DYI interview question. What's one thing you wish people would ask you about, but don't?
[Laughs] My golf swing. I wish more people would ask me what golf course is my favorite and how my swing is looking because everybody wants to talk to me about baseball.

So...how's your golf swing going?
It's good. I'm playing tomorrow, I'm excited.

A little over two years ago, you were in Double-A. Since then, you've been Rookie of the Year, won a Silver Slugger and Golden Glove Award, and now are on the cover of a baseball video game. Were these the best two years of your life?
I've been very fortunate since I signed on to play pro ball in 2006. I moved up fairly fast, I didn't stay in the minors very long, and when I did make it to the big leagues, I had good success. It's been an unbelievable ride.



What's the first video game you ever played?
I've been playing video games for a long time. I used to play Contra.

Did you cheat? Did you put the Konami code in?
Oh yeah, of course! But my grandma used to have a Super Nintendo on a super tiny TV at her house and I used to play that. I also played this weird Michael Jordan game...I think it was an adventure game, not even basketball. I think it was called Chaos in the Windy City.

THE BASEBALL SEX LINGO TEST
EVAN LONGORIA VS. THE INTERNET
Everyone knows what getting to 'second base' with a girl means, but what about hitting a 'ground rule double' or 'committing an error'? We put Evan Longoria's knowledge to the test against the seamiest definitions of baseball terminology we could find on the Web, where boys turn into men.

RAIN DELAY
Internet: Having to wait to fool around with a girl, because she's on her period.
EL: "Like, when a guy is having trouble ejaculating?"

ERROR
Internet: When a person has blackout sex they regret.
EL: "Putting 'it' in the wrong hole?"

FAN INTERFERENCE
Internet: A cock block.
EL: "That's when someone cuts you off, a blockage."

GROUND RULE DOUBLE
Internet: Copping a feel on a girl without ever making out.
EL: "Uh, when she doesn't shave her...you-know-what?"

WALK OFF GRAND SLAM
Internet: A satisfying one-time sexual encounter, as in a one-night stand.
EL: "I can't even begin to say what I'm thinking of."

INFIELD FLY RULE
Internet: When there's an unequal ratio of males and females at a party and one member of the dominant group leaves to create an equal ratio.
EL: "Oh, Jesus—did you guys make this up?"
Wow, certainly an, uh, eccentric taste in video games. So if you could compare yourself to a video game character who would you be? Please don't say Shaquille O'Neal in Shaq Fu...
No, no. I used to play Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball and there was a guy that hit right behind him in the game. Ken Griffey was the only real player in the game and the guy who protected him, I forget the guy's name, it was like "Cobra" or something. He was just a big jacked dude and hit bombs.

So, if you could be any video game character, you'd be a baseball player on steroids?
[Laughs] No, no, no, no. Don't put me on record saying that!

Don't worry, we'll just tell them it was the clear stuff. Moving on, let's talk about your manager a bit. How do you feel about having a coach that wears Keith Olbermann/Janeane Garafolo glasses?
I can't say enough good things about Joe. He orchestrates everything that goes on in our clubhouse. He's a great mentor and really knows how to balance the maturity in the clubhouse, especially with all of the young guys on the roster. He mixes being a leader with having fun and does a great job.

So, you play third base and you just won some awards. How is MLB expecting you to play next year with a gold glove and a silver bat? Isn't that cheating?
[Laughs] Yeah, I guess it would be cheating.

That's worse than corking the bat, isn't it?
Yeah, I would think so. Hopefully I can keep up my production and do as well again next year.

Speaking of which, what do you see happening next year?
The 2008 season was unbelievable. We did what nobody expected us to do, but this year was a disappointment. We had a winning record and we had a solid season, but we didn't make the playoffs. For myself, it's all about staying healthy and working hard when I'm on the field. In terms of the team, we're in a tough division and I think the biggest thing for our team is just to worry about the twenty-five guys in our clubhouse instead of what's going on with everyone else.

You're still an up-and-coming star in baseball. Who do you look to as, not necessarily a role model, but someone who you want to imitate in general?
This is an easy question to answer: Derek Jeter. For as long as he's been playing, he's never had weird media slip-ups or dirty, raunchy scandals distracting him from his game. He just played the game right and has done pretty much all the right things. When we talk, we don't talk about that, but I think, whether you're young or old he's the benchmark for what a professional athlete and baseball player should be.

Yeah, and having a smokin' hot girlfriend in Minka Kelly isn't so bad either.
Well, yeah.