With opening day for the Yankees set in the Bronx for tomorrow, Mark Teixeira took time to evaluate his spring training and to state his goals for this upcoming season with ESPN’s Mike and Mike. There is no doubt the spotlight will be shining bright on the Yankees’ oft-injured, aging first baseman. During the interview, immediately, he proclaimed: “I feel great!”. That remains to be seen, however, as Mark Teixeira has often been plagued by injury during his time in pinstripes. Most recently, on September 11, 2015, he was shut down for the remainder of the season with a fractured right leg after fouling ball off his shin (August 17, 2015).
Teixeira also expressed both goals the Yankees and for himself. The Chase for 28 is alive, as he stated: “you want to win another championship … once you taste that champagne one time, you want to keep doing it”. In addition, “Personally, I want to get to 500 HRs and to the Hall of fame”. As of today, Teixeira has 394 career home runs and he turns 36 this month. According to a 2007 study from the University of Colorado at Boulder, the average career length of a position player is 5.6 seasons. Based on these numbers, Teixeira is well past his prime. In mid-October of last year, Teixeira also gave them the “okay” to trade him. While the Yankees did not deal him, fans will have to wait to see see if those goals are achieved while Mark Teixeira is wearing pinstripes.
This spring, Teixeira’s batting statistics are not favorable. He finished Spring Training with a batting average of .140 (7 hits in 50 at-bats), significantly less than his typical career spring training average (.270). Teixeira told Mike and Mike: “If you’re in the field producing, the fans don’t care about all the other stuff”. Fans may be paying close attention to Teixeira’s performance this season as he is also entering the final year of his 8-year, $180 million contract with the Yankees.
