Mark Teixeira

Explore about the Famous Baseball Player Mark Teixeira, who was born in United States on April 11, 1980. Analyze Mark Teixeira’s net worth, age, bio, birthday, dating, height-weight, wiki. Investigate who is Mark Teixeira dating now? Look into this article to know how old is Mark Teixeira?

Mark Teixeira Biography

Star switch-hitting first baseman who spent the first five years of his career with the Texas Rangers. He had brief stints with the Braves and Angels before joining the New York Yankees in 2009. He retired from professional baseball in 2016.

He chose to go to Georgia Tech, over playing in the big leagues right away.

He set the all-time MLB record for most games with a home run from both sides of the plate.

He married Leigh Williams in 2002. He and his wife set up a charitable foundation that provides sports scholarsips. He has two sons, Jack and William, and a daughter, Addison.

He became the fifth MLB player, after Joe DiMaggio and three others, to hit at least one hundred home runs in their first three seasons.

On April 23, against the Angels, Teixeira was involved in a home-plate collision with Bobby Wilson while sliding home. Teixeira confessed that the collision was not intentional, and was not disciplined by the league for his action. On May 8, Teixeira became the second Yankees player to hit three home runs in one game against the Boston Red Sox, joining Lou Gehrig, who accomplished the feat on June 23, 1927. On June 20, against the New York Mets, Teixeira hit a grand slam off Johan Santana, proving to be the Yankees’ only offense of the game in the 4–0 victory. Once again, Teixeira won the 2010 Gold Glove Award for American League first basemen. In 158 games of 2010, Teixeira finished with a .256 average, 33 home runs, and 108 runs. In the 2010 ALCS, Teixeira injured his hamstring, and did not play for the remainder of the playoffs. The Yankees lost the series to the Rangers in 6 games.

On September 30, prior to a game against the Orioles, Teixeira was honored by the rock band, Twisted Sister during a pregame ceremony. The band gifted Teixeira an Epiphone Les Paul guitar with signatures from everyone in the band. The song, “I Wanna Rock” was used as Teixeira’s walk-up song since he first joined the Yankees. October 2 was Teixeira’s final game of his career. Prior to the game, another pregame ceremony took place with his wife and three children visiting. He received several gifts, including a framed jersey and an autographed base. He finished the game 0 for 3 and left the game in the 7th inning as the Yankees lost 5-2 to the Orioles. In 116 games of his final season in the majors, Teixeira batted .204 with 15 home runs and 44 RBI.

While playing the San Diego Padres on July 3, Teixeira hit two home runs, including his 400th career home run. He became only the fifth switch-hitter to hit 400 home runs in a career. He followed teammate and fellow switch-hitter Carlos Beltrán, who had also hit his 400th career home run for the Yankees less than two months earlier on May 15. Another former teammate who also accomplished this feat was Chipper Jones, with whom Teixeira briefly played as a member of the Atlanta Braves.

Mark Charles Teixeira (/t eɪ ˈ ʃ ɛər ə / tay-SHAIR -ə; born April 11, 1980) is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and New York Yankees. Before his professional career, he played college baseball at Georgia Tech, where in 2000 he won the Dick Howser Trophy as the national collegiate baseball player of the year. One of the most prolific switch hitters in MLB history, Teixeira was an integral part of the Yankees’ 27th World Series championship in 2009, leading the American League (AL) in home runs and runs batted in (RBI) while finishing second in the Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) balloting. Teixeira was a three-time All-Star, won five Gold Glove Awards and three Silver Slugger Awards, and also holds the all-time major league record for most games with a home run from both sides of the plate, with 14. He was the fifth switch hitter in MLB history to reach 400 home runs.

Teixeira was originally chosen in the ninth round of the 1998 MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox. Teixeira chose not to sign with the Red Sox, however, opting instead to play college baseball for Georgia Tech citing that he didn’t appreciate how the Red Sox treated him. In the summer of 1999, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he won the league’s Outstanding Pro Prospect Award.

Teixeira played college baseball at Georgia Tech. In 2000, his batting average was .427, and his on-base plus slugging (OPS) was 1.319. He also won the Dick Howser Trophy as the national collegiate baseball player of the year.

In 2001, Teixeira re-entered the draft and was selected by the Texas Rangers with the fifth overall pick. The Philadelphia Phillies considered selecting him with the fourth overall pick, but the demands of Teixeira’s agent Scott Boras swayed the Phillies to select Gavin Floyd. The Rangers signed Teixeira to a Major League contract worth $9.5 million over 4 years.

Drafted fifth overall by the Texas Rangers in 2001, Teixeira made his MLB debut on Opening Day in 2003, and hit 26 home runs as a rookie. He hit career-highs of 43 home runs and 144 RBI in 2005. The centerpiece of consecutive mid-season trades in 2007 and 2008, the Rangers first sent him to the Braves for a prospect package centered around Elvis Andrus and Matt Harrison. He was later traded in July 2008 to the Los Angeles Angels, where he played for half a season and lost in the first round of the playoffs. In December 2008, he agreed to a lucrative eight-year contract with the Yankees, contributing his most productive season in pinstripes the following year. Injuries limited his effectiveness afterward, including a calf strain in 2012, early season-ending wrist surgery in 2013, various ailments in 2014, a shin fracture in 2015, and neck spasms and torn cartilage in 2016. Teixeira retired at the conclusion of the 2016 season and contract with the Yankees. In each season from 2004 to 2011, Teixeira hit at least 30 home runs with 100 RBI.

Teixeira began the 2002 season in the Florida State League, where he batted .320 with an OPS of 1.000 in 38 games. He was then moved up to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers, with whom he batted .316 with a .994 OPS and hit 10 home runs in 48 games. It turned out that 2002 would be his only season in the minor leagues; he made the Rangers out of spring training in 2003.

As a rookie in 2003, Teixeira hit .259 with 26 home runs, 84 RBI, and a .811 OPS. Teixeira began to improve in 2004, batting .281 with an OPS of .930, 38 home runs, and 112 RBI. On August 17, 2004, Teixeira hit for the cycle. For his accomplishments in 2005, he earned the Silver Slugger Award as the best-hitting first baseman in the American League as well as the Gold Glove signifying his place as the best fielding first baseman in the American League. He was also named to his first All-Star Game after winning the fan voting portion of the selection to be named the starting first baseman for his league. During the game, Teixeira hit a home run from the right hand side of the plate, something he had failed to do in the entire first half of the season. In a five-game span around the All-Star Game, Teixeira hit five home runs with 13 RBI. He finished July with 13 home runs and 30 RBI and was named the American League Player of the Month. Overall, Teixeira batted .301 with 43 home runs and 144 RBI in the 2005 season.

In 2005, Teixeira became the third switch-hitter in MLB history to hit at least 20 home runs in each of his first three seasons, after Eddie Murray and Chipper Jones. He is also one of just five players in Major League history to hit at least 100 home runs in his first three seasons, joining Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio, Ralph Kiner, and Eddie Mathews as well as current first base star, Albert Pujols. Other players – Mark McGwire, José Canseco, Todd Helton, Ryan Howard – have hit 100+ home runs in their first three full seasons, but these players had all played partial seasons prior to playing their first three full seasons. His 2005 total of 144 RBI is a Major League record for a switch-hitter.

Teixeira and his family reside in Greenwich, Connecticut. In 2006, Teixeira and his wife Leigh Williams, whom he met at Georgia Tech, established the Mark Teixeira Charitable Fund that supported six scholarships at three high schools in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. They have three children, sons Jack Gordan and William Charles, and daughter Addison Leigh.

Teixeira agreed to a two-year $15.98 million contract before the 2006 season to avoid his first two years of arbitration.

Teixeira’s 2006 season began slowly, as he collected only nine home runs before the All-Star Break. After the All-Star Break, however, he was among the league’s leaders in home runs, and again finished with over 30 homers and 100 RBI for the season.

On Mother’s Day, May 14, 2006, Teixeira was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat to benefit the Breast Cancer Foundation.

In 54 games with Atlanta in 2007, Teixeira batted .317 with 17 home runs and 56 RBI. The Braves avoided arbitration in the 2007 offseason and signed Teixeira to a one-year, $12.5 million contract for the 2008 season.

On August 19, 2007, Teixeira had his first multi-HR game against the Arizona Diamondbacks off Yusmeiro Petit. He would repeat that feat the next day, going deep for two three-run home runs versus the Cincinnati Reds. Teixeira, a switch-hitter, hit both homers on the 19th batting from the left side of the plate, and hit his homers on the 20th from the right side. He was named co-NL Player of the Week from August 20–26 by slugging .793 with three home runs and as expected, he was awarded NL Player of the Month for August. On September 22, Teixeira had his first walk-off hit with the Braves when he singled in Willie Harris giving the Braves a 4–3 extra-inning victory.

In his Braves debut on August 1, 2007, Teixeira hit a 3-run homer and drove in 4 runs in a 12–3 rout of the Houston Astros. Teixeira went on to homer in each of the following two games, becoming just the second player to homer in his first three games as a Brave – the first being Gary Sheffield in 2002.

On July 31, 2007, two weeks after turning down an eight-year, $140 million contract extension from the Rangers, Teixeira was traded to the Atlanta Braves (along with left-handed reliever Ron Mahay) for catcher/first baseman Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and four prospects: shortstop Elvis Andrus, and starting pitchers Matt Harrison, Neftalí Feliz and Beau Jones. Teixeira was activated for that night’s game against the Houston Astros and arrived in the dugout during the seventh inning. He was promptly shown on Turner Field’s high definition video board and received a boisterous applause from the Atlanta crowd.

On June 9, 2007, Teixeira’s franchise record 507 consecutive-game streak came to an end. Teixeira landed awkwardly at first base after running out a grounder in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers the previous day. The streak was second to Miguel Tejada at the time. The strained quadriceps muscle placed Teixeira on the disabled list for only the second time of his career.

Teixeira made his postseason debut with a .467 batting average, 7 hits and an RBI. His new team of the Angels would lose the 2008 ALDS to the Boston Red Sox in 4 games. Teixeira declared for free agency at the end of the season.

On July 29, 2008, Teixeira was traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Stephen Marek. Batting third in the Angel order, Teixeira hit .358 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs after the trade to help his new team to their first 100-win season in franchise history. Through 2011, he was one of seven major leaguers to have had at least four 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons in their first five years, along with Chuck Klein, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Ralph Kiner, Albert Pujols, and Ryan Braun.

For the 2009 season, Teixeira was awarded both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards for the American League first baseman. He also finished second in the AL MVP balloting behind Twins’ catcher Joe Mauer.

Teixeira received a World Series ring as the Yankees won the 2009 World Series, but struggled offensively throughout the postseason, batting only .180 overall and .136 in the World Series. However, several of his hits proved very important, including a walk-off home run in Game 2 of the ALDS and a game-tying home run in Game 2 of the World Series. Additionally, he made several stellar defensive plays in all rounds of the playoffs.

In the 2009 season, he led the AL in both home runs (tied with Carlos Peña of Tampa Bay) with 39, and RBI with 122.

In December 2008, Teixeira agreed preliminarily to a deal with the New York Yankees worth $180 million over 8 years, and he was formally introduced as a Yankee on January 6, 2009. The contract included a full no-trade clause, plus a $5 million signing bonus. He signed with the Yankees over a number of other clubs, including the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles. The signing with the Yankees reunited Teixeira with teammate Alex Rodriguez who played for the Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2003. Teixeira wore the number 25 instead of his preferred number 23, since 23 is retired in honor of Don Mattingly. Mattingly was Teixeira’s childhood idol, and was the reason Teixeira wore 23 earlier in his career. The signing became official on January 6, 2009.

In December 2008, Teixeira agreed preliminarily to a deal with the New York Yankees worth $180 million over 8 years, and he was formally introduced as a Yankee on January 6, 2009. The contract included a full no-trade clause, plus a $5 million signing bonus. He signed with the Yankees over a number of other clubs, including the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles. The signing with the Yankees reunited Teixeira with teammate Alex Rodriguez who played for the Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2003. Teixeira wore the number 25 instead of his preferred number 23, since 23 is retired in honor of Don Mattingly. Mattingly was Teixeira’s childhood idol, and was the reason Teixeira wore 23 earlier in his career. The signing became official on January 6, 2009.

In August 2011, Teixeira and Curtis Granderson became the first Yankees teammates to have 30 home runs in 115 games since Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961.

On August 2, 2011, Teixeira hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game for the 12th time in his career, breaking a three-way tie with Chili Davis and Eddie Murray for the most such games all-time.

On June 30, 2011, Teixeira hit his 300th career home run off Randy Wolf of the Milwaukee Brewers.

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