About Teixeira
We’re sure you’re sick and tired of all this actual news about insignificant things like the Red Sox extending for six years the American League Most Valuable Player, so we’ll return for a moment to what Hot Stove ’08 is really all about: piles and piles of conjecture about Mark Teixeira.
Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated weighs in with this well-reported, interesting piece about Teixeira and how his intelligence, image, and ability make him, in agent Scott Boras’s words, “the ideal client.”
Tex, as he is known, fits the profile of the modern superstar -- polished and savvy, mindful of his image as well as his OPS. He was switch-hitting in elementary school, was a member of the National Honor Society at Mount St. Joseph High in Baltimore, went to Georgia Tech and became an assistant player representative in only his second major league season. When he walks into the clubhouse, dressed in slacks and a button-down shirt, the first thing he does is turn off his cellphone so he is not distracted and does not bother anyone else. He says he has a "plan for every day," which requires that he eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before each game and scarf down a Power Bar in the middle innings. “Some people would call me obsessive compulsive,” Teixeira says, “but I take my job very seriously and my preparation very seriously. I am not the kind of guy who goes out at night and parties.”
The story also touches on how his early dealings with the Red Sox out of high school shaped his baseball business sense. (Which, by the by, ace colleague Nick Cafardo was all over months ago.)
There really hasn’t been much news, or even rumors, lately about Teixeira, which is all but certain to change next week at the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas. So for now, enjoy Jenkins's story. And read all the way to the end for some anecdotes about Teixeira that will probably give you another reason to want him to wear a 'B' on his cap.
Two of the most formative events of Teixeira's life occurred in Baltimore. When he was a freshman in high school, on the way home from soccer practice one day, his father told him that his mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer. And when he was a junior, preparing to play an American Legion baseball game, one of Mark's best friends was killed in a car accident. Nick Liberatore was sitting in the backseat of a car parked on the side of Interstate 95 when a trucker fell asleep at the wheel and plowed into him. Every Wednesday night for the next year Teixeira and his friends went to the Liberatores' house for dinner. After Teixeira signed his first professional contract, with the Rangers in 2001, he asked Mount St. Joseph principal Barry Fitzpatrick how much it would cost to endow a scholarship in Liberatore's name. Fitzpatrick told him he would have to start with $75,000. "Mark took out his checkbook and wrote the check right there," Fitzpatrick says.
GO GET HIM THEO
Interesting story about Tex and his personal and work ethics. Signing Pedroia sends a signal to Tex that he'll have GG's at 2nd and 3rd with a steady glove at SS leaving Catching as the only unknown. I'm originally from Connecticut but now live in Maryland and my son goes to Mount Saint Joseph. Good school and hopefully one day he can write a check for a great cause.
are you kidding...to good to be true...there must be something wrong with this guy
DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO,THIS IS THE TYPE WE WANT ON THE TEAM.THEO,GO TO WORK,NOT THAT YOUR NOT ALREADY.
I sure hope Theo can pull this one off. Teixeira would be a great fit for this team and this organization. If Theo can sign him I'll feel the same way I did when Theo signed Curt in the fall of 2003 - like we are gonna win it next season.
Sounds a little bit bit better than Manny, huh guys?
He is THE free-agent prize this off-season.
Tex is a great player and obviously after reading this a great human being, but it could go both ways. He might be too sensitive to play in a big market. If a cellphone can disrupt his "obsessive-compulsive" routine, imagine what living in Boston could do.
"If a cellphone can disrupt his "obsessive-compulsive" routine, imagine what living in Boston could do."
You missed the point there, J. Tex shuts off his cell phone so as not to disturb OTHERS in the clubhouse.
Boston is a helluva place, and a lot different than trying to be in New York. I think he'd prosper in Boston with the especially Large Portuguese population up there in Mass.
Please Santa, bring us Tex for Christmas.
J. Milner, I hear what you're saying, but I have a different interpretation. I think the players who excel in Boston are exactly the kind of people who know how to focus, and how to tune things out when they need to tune them out. Every player approaches the game differently. I think the important point here is that Tex has obviously found an approach that works for him.
Tex is a very good player and would be an asset to any team. However, nobody should make the mistake of thinking he is Manny Ramirez with the bat. His production is a little better, but comparable with Jason Bay and I would expect
Bay's production to get better in Fenway. There is also the issue of what to do if the Sox do sign him. Do they trade Lowell? Youk is a Gold Glover at first, but is about average defensively at third. Lowell had been pretty productive for the Sox and will be again if he's healthy. Tex is good, but $20M a year good? I'm not sure.
I live in the same town that "Tex" grew up in, Severna Park, and know his parents.
To know his parents is to know " Tex". 1st class all the way. I am the biggest SOX fan and would like nothing else better but If I was an O's fan I would be emailing Peter Angelos everyday. They might not be able to afford him, but they cannot afford not to sign him.
Why would he want to play in Boston? He'll get followed every night from his home by star-crossed fans. He'll loe 10+ HR evry year to Fenway's RF and he'll spend his time in outdated and sub-par facilities. The Red Sox wont go past 5-6 years for hime so it's not happening. Besides, he hates the Red Sox.
Why would he want to play in Boston? He'll get followed every night from his home by star-crossed fans. He'll lose 10+ HR evry year to Fenway's RF and he'll spend his time in outdated and sub-par facilities. The Red Sox wont go past 5-6 years for hime so it's not happening. Besides, he hates the Red Sox.
I hope that Theo can sign Tex since I think he fills one of the only glaring holes that the Red Sox have. Plus, if we get him...that means the Yanks don't and the idea of the Yanks adding him to their lineup...umm, me no likey. Of course, the idea of Mikey Lowell being traded away breaks my heart, but it is business afterall.
I think Tex will play just fine in the big market. I read shutting his cell phone off as a sign of him showing up to work and removing all of those other distractions. It shows me his work ethic more than anything else.
Sure, Tex would be a good addition, but when you have Mike Lowell on once side and Youk on the other, you don't NEED Tex. With three potential starters available in Buckholz, Bowden and Masterson, and a beef-up of the reliever corps, one more pitcher as insurance pretty much gets it done. Like the "Commissioner" said, even with a hurting Ortiz, Lowell and Drew, they still were 2nd in offense.
If the medical staff thinks Lowell and Ortiz (and Lowrie, for that matter)are fine, don't get Teixiera. Without question the best place to upgrate is Catcher
Jeez, peanut buter and jelly before every game?
Kidding. This guy's obviously a stud player and a first-rate human being as well. His acquisition would also dramatically alter Boston's batting order. Drew and Bay batting 6th and 7th....yikes!
I agree with you Steve. Tex is a good player, but don't make the mistake of thinking he is Manny Ramirez with the bat and is going to bring that kind of presence to the lineup. His production is a little better than, but comparable with Jason Bay's. Also, Youk is a Gold Glove first baseman, but about average at third. He's no Mike Lowell for sure. Lowell won't hit 30 HRs, but he'll drive in 100 if given the chance. Tex will help any club, but he's not a necessity, and certainly not worth $20M a year to the Sox.
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