Mark Teixeira had a well-decorated professional baseball career in MLB. During his 14 years in the league, Teixeira played as a first baseman for four teams. However, he will be best remembered for his time with the New York Yankees, where he won the World Championship title in 2009. His name went down in history as one of the most prolific hitters that the MLB has ever seen.
The three-star and five-time gold glove award winner officially retired on October 2, 2016. He scored 409 career goals, becoming the fifth batter to pass in MLB history. Like most professional athletes, Teixeira became a sports analyst soon after his retirement.
Mark Teixeira Biography (Age)
On April 11, 1980, Teixeira was born as Mark Charles Teixeira. Although born in Annapolis, Maryland, his parents Margaret Canterna and John Teixeira would come to raise him in Severna Park, Maryland. His baseball career began during his years at Mount Saint Joseph High School.
Teixeira was so good at baseball that the Boston Red Sox signed him as early as high school, however, he turned down the offer preferring to play college football at Georgia Tech. As a varsity player in college, Mark Teixeira won the Dick Howser Trophy as National Baseball Player of the Year.
And then came the 2001 MLB draft where Mark Teixeira would be selected fifth overall by the Texas Rangers. In 2007, Teixeira left the Rangers to join the Atlanta Braves, where he only came to play for one season, 2008/2009. During his career with Rangers, Teixeira won two Silver Slugger Awards and was named the 2005 All-Star Team.
Mark only had one season with the Braves, then a brief stint with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim before the New York Yankees arrived with a big offer in 2009. Mark accepted and had the most successful season of his career by winning the 2009 World Series.
From then on, Markcarrière’s injuries, including a wrist injury in 2012 that required surgery. In 2016, at the end of his huge contract with the Yankees, Mark Teixeira ended his career, suspending his cap and gloves.
Salary
Mark Teixeira has gained tremendously from his baseball career. His first contract signed with the Texas Rangers in 2001 was worth $9.5 million over 4 years. He then signed a two-year, $15.98 million contract which kept him on the side until 2007. For the 2008 season, he signed a one-year contract, worth 12 .5 million dollars.
Mark signed his biggest contract in DecemberIn 2008, an 8-year, $180 million deal with the Yankees came with a $5 million signing bonus. The deal gave him an average annual salary of $22.5 million. In 2016, his last year on contract, he was ranked 74th in the Forbes World Ranking of the World’s Highest-Paid Athletes, with an annual earnings of $23 million., Steiner Sports and more.
family, wife
Mark Teixeira is married to Leigh Teixeira (née Williams). The couple met during their college years at Georgia Tech. Originally from Georgia, Leigh attended high school in Georgia. After graduating from college, Mark got married to Leigh on December 7, 2002. The couple have remained inseparable ever since, supporting each other over the years. They have given the public no reason to believe that their union is not doing well.
Their family includes three children, they are sons Jack Gordan and William Charles, and daughter Addison Leigh. The family has since made their home in Greenwich, Connecticut. Mark and his wife are extremely involved in charity work. In 2006, they created the Mark Teixeira Charitable Fund. The Fund has funded six scholarships in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.
other facts
• Mark Teixeira stands at a height of 6 feet 3 inches, approximately 1.91m.
• he is of mixed ethnicity; South American, English, Portuguese on his father’s side and Italian on his mother’s side.
• Teixeira used the money from his very first professional contract to offer a scholarship to his high school, in honor of his friend who lost his life in a car accident.
• He is a convinced Catholic and speaks regularly about his faith.
• Some of his hobbies include; fishing, hunting, golf and reading.
• A cinephile, Teixeira likes to be entertained and regularly enjoys the Broadway theatre. His favorite production is Les Miserables
• On December 2, 2015, a few days before his 13th wedding anniversary, Mark Teixeira lost his mother.
• Mark sits on the board of several not-for-profit organizations including DREAM (formerly Harlem RBI), Emerald Corridor Foundation and Greenwich International Film Festival.
• In the 2016 US presidential election, Mark supported Marco Rubio.