Mark Teixeira

Mark Charles Teixeira ( born April 11, 1980), nicknamed "Tex", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and New York Yankees.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In each season from 2004 to 2011, Teixeira hit at least 30 home runs with 100 RBI.

Mark Charles Teixeira grew up in Severna Park, Maryland, the son of Margaret "Margy" Canterna and John Teixeira.

He attended Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore, where he played for the school's varsity baseball team, and was teammates with Gavin Floyd.

His paternal grandfather emigrated from the South American country Guyana, and he has English and Portuguese ancestry through his father.

Teixeira's mother was of Italian descent.

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.

He hit career-highs of 43 home runs and 144 RBI in 2005.

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.

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 with the team the following 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 holds the 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.

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.