Mark Teixeira
Mark Teixeira, born 11 April 1980, is a Major League Baseball first baseman that most recently played for the Los Angeles Angels. He has previously played for the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves. On December 23, 2008 he agreed to an eight year, $180 million contract with the New York Yankees, which will make him the third highest paid player in the Major Leagues (and the Yankees) after he passes a physical.
Amateur Years
Teixeira played high school baseball at Baltimore's Mount St. Joseph’s. He was one of the elite high school players in the country and considered a likely first round pick in the 1998 MLB Amateur Draft. However, Teixeira fell all the way to the ninth round, where he was selected by the Boston Red Sox. Some have offered that Teixeira fell was due to his association with notoriously difficult agent Scott Boras. Teixeira claims the reason was that the Red Sox sent out word to other teams that he would refuse to sign with any team. Said Teixeira, "The Red Sox told everybody that I wouldn't sign, and when it got to a late enough round they said, 'Let's take a flier on him. So they spoiled me for everyone else."[1] After difficult negotiations with the team, he opted to play collegiately at Georgia Tech.
Professional Years
After his time at Georgia Tech, Teixeira was again considered a top prospect for the 2001 baseball draft. The Texas Rangers, coming off of successful negotiations with Boras on Alex Rodriguez, were confident that they could also work out a deal with the agent for Teixeira. The team selected him with the fifth pick. After signing, Teixeira blew through the Texas farm system. He became a regular with the team in only his second professional season. He would average 35 home runs and 112 RBI's over his first four full seasons in Texas. The following two seasons saw him getting traded mid-season, first to the Braves and then to the Angels. Following the 2008 season, Teixeira became eligible for free agency. Teams that expressed interest included the Angels, Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles, Red Sox and Yankees.
References
- ↑ Jenkins, Lee. "$150 Million Man Tex, Inc."; Sports Illustrated, 8 December 2008
