Mark Teixeira

Mark Teixeira retired as a first baseman and designated hitter for the New York Yankees in 2016. Teixeira previously played first base for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Throughout his early years, Teixeira grew up in Maryland in the 1980’s and although he could have entered the MLB in 1998 with the Boston Red Sox, he chose instead to play college baseball for Georgia Tech. Teixeira re-entered the MLB draft in 2001, after a successful four years of college baseball, and was signed with the Texas Rangers as the fifth overall pick. Playing with the Rangers until 2007, he then spent a short amount of time with both the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Angels before settling down with the New York Yankees in 2009. Teixeira received five Gold Glove Awards, three Silver Slugger Awards, a World Series Championship with the Yankees, and was the American league’s leader in home runs and RBI’s in 2009. As a switch hitter, he has set a record of 144 single-season runs batted. He has many admirable accomplishments outside of the game of baseball, as well, one of them being the founder of a scholarship at his former high school in honor of a friend who was killed in a car accident.