Evan Longoria is having a rough spring.
Earlier this month the Rays‘ third baseman’s 1967 Camero RS was stolen off a lot in Arizona where it was being refurbished. The thieves had to get past a security gate and an alarm system to get to the car. Longoria said that he didn’t expect to see the classic muscle car again, and police have yet to find it.
Then, yesterday the home that he, David Price and Reid Brignac had rented in Port Charlotte, Fla. for the spring was broken into and burglarized. The three lost nearly everything inside including a 60-inch TV, 2 Xboxes, 3 iPads, headphones, Price’s laptop and several expensive watches. Price has estimated his loss at around $50,000. Also among the items stolen from the house was an AK-47 rifle which belonged to Longoria.
Talk about bad luck.
Not only is this the second time in a month that Longoria has had something stolen from him, but now a high-powered automatic rifle is loose on the streets of Port Charlotte. Longoria declined to say why he had the rifle to begin with, but the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office was quick to say that Longoria had all the proper documentation and permits to have the popular weapon in his home.
AK-47s are popular guns for enthusiasts. They’re cheap ($300-$400), easy to use and easy to clean. Not to mention, they’re fun to shoot and are typically used at recreational distance shooting ranges.
What everybody is apparently missing in this investigation is why one of the most promising and exciting young players in Major League Baseball is armed with an assault rifle in his apartment. According to Tampa Bay gun enthusiasts, Longoria must have been preparing for a zombie invasion because that’s the only time any average citizen would need a rifle of that size and caliber in their home. And I certainly hope Price and Brignac knew the gun was in his possession inside the house, otherwise I’m thinking Longoria might need to start shopping for new roommates next spring.
While the theft of Longoria’s AK-47 is definitely one of the strangest sports stories in recent memory, one thing is for sure- nobody is going to mess with the Rays, especially Longoria.
If you do, he’ll blow you away.
VIDEO: Evan Longoria’s Reaction to Home Invasion
Michael Wood is a sports writer for The Daily Collegian. He also runs a sports blog called The AL East Blog. Check it out at www.aleastblog.com, or contact him at [email protected].
