Mark Teixeira

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. He hit career-highs of 43 home runs and 144 RBI in 2005. 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 in pinstripes the following year. 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. In each season from 2004 to 2011, Teixeira hit at least 30 home runs with 100 RBI.\n', ' Mark 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 is of Italian descent.\n', ' Teixeira was originally chosen in the ninth round of the 1998 Major League Baseball 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 for the Orleans Cardinals and won the Outstanding Pro Prospect Award in the Cape Cod Baseball League.\n', '