Draft and minor leagues The
Texas Rangers selected Teixeira in the first round, with the fifth overall pick, of the
2001 MLB draft. The
Philadelphia Phillies considered selecting him with the fourth overall pick, but the financial demands of Teixeira's agent
Scott Boras swayed the Phillies to select
Gavin Floyd. The Rangers signed Teixeira to a major league contract worth $9.5 million over four years. Teixeira began the 2002 season with the
Charlotte Rangers of the
Class A-Advanced Florida State League, where he batted .320 with an OPS of 1.000 in 38 games. He was then moved up to the
Tulsa Drillers of the
Double-A Texas League, with whom he batted .316 with a .994 OPS and hit 10 home runs in 48 games.
Texas Rangers Teixeira made the Rangers
Opening Day roster out of
spring training in 2003. As a rookie in 2003, Teixeira hit .259 with 26 home runs, 84
runs batted in (RBIs), and a .811 OPS. In 2004, Teixeira batted .281 with an OPS of .930, 38 home runs, and 112 RBIs. On August 17, 2004, Teixeira hit for the
cycle. For his accomplishments in 2005, he earned the
Silver Slugger Award as the best-hitting first baseman in the
American League as well as the
Gold Glove signifying his place as the best fielding first baseman in the American League. He was also named to his first All-Star Game after winning the fan voting portion of the selection to be named the starting first baseman for his league. During the game, Teixeira hit a home run from the right-hand side of the plate, something he had failed to do in the entire first half of the season. In a five-game span around the All-Star Game, Teixeira hit five home runs with 13 RBI. He finished July with 13 home runs and 30 RBI and was named the American League
Player of the Month. Overall, Teixeira batted .301 with 43 home runs and 144 RBI in the 2005 season. In 2005, Teixeira became the third switch-hitter in MLB history to hit at least 20 home runs in each of his first three seasons, after
Eddie Murray and
Chipper Jones. He is also one of just five players in Major League history to hit at least 100 home runs in his first three seasons, joining Hall of Famers
Joe DiMaggio,
Ralph Kiner, and
Eddie Mathews as well as former first base star,
Albert Pujols. Other players –
Mark McGwire,
José Canseco,
Todd Helton,
Ryan Howard – have hit 100+ home runs in their first three full seasons, but these players had all played partial seasons prior to playing their first three full seasons. His 2005 total of 144 RBI is a Major League record for a switch-hitter. On
Mother's Day, May 14, 2006, Teixeira was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a
pink bat to benefit the Breast Cancer Foundation. Teixeira's 2006 season began slowly, as he collected only nine home runs before the All-Star Break. After the All-Star Break, however, he was among the league's leaders in home runs, and again finished with over 30 homers and 100 RBI for the season. Teixeira agreed to a two-year $15.98 million contract before the 2006 season to avoid his first two years of arbitration. On June 9, 2007, Teixeira's franchise record 507 consecutive-game streak came to an end. Teixeira landed awkwardly at first base after running out a grounder in a game against the
Milwaukee Brewers the previous day. The streak was second to
Miguel Tejada at the time. The strained quadriceps muscle placed Teixeira on the
disabled list for only the second time of his career.
Atlanta Braves On July 31, 2007, two weeks after turning down an eight-year, $140 million contract extension from the Rangers, Teixeira was traded to the
Atlanta Braves (along with left-handed
reliever Ron Mahay) for
catcher/first baseman
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and four prospects:
shortstop Elvis Andrus, and
starting pitchers
Matt Harrison,
Neftalí Feliz and Beau Jones. Teixeira was activated for that night's game against the
Houston Astros and arrived in the dugout during the seventh inning. He was promptly shown on
Turner Field's high definition video board and received a boisterous applause from the Atlanta crowd. In his Braves debut on August 1, 2007, Teixeira hit a 3-run homer and drove in 4 runs in a 12–3 rout of the Houston Astros. Teixeira went on to homer in each of the following two games, becoming just the second player to homer in his first three games as a Brave – the first being
Gary Sheffield in 2002. On August 19, 2007, Teixeira had his first multi-HR game against the
Arizona Diamondbacks off
Yusmeiro Petit. He would repeat that feat the next day, going deep for two three-run home runs versus the
Cincinnati Reds. Teixeira, a
switch-hitter, hit both homers on the 19th batting from the left side of the plate, and hit his homers on the 20th from the right side. He was named co-NL Player of the Week from August 20–26 by slugging .793 with three home runs and as expected, he was awarded NL Player of the Month for August. On September 22, Teixeira had his first
walk-off hit with the Braves when he
singled in
Willie Harris giving the Braves a 4–3 extra-inning victory. In 54 games with Atlanta in 2007, Teixeira batted .317 with 17 home runs and 56 RBI. The Braves avoided arbitration in the 2007 offseason and signed Teixeira to a one-year, $12.5 million contract for the 2008 season. Game 4 on October 6.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim On July 29, 2008, Teixeira was traded to the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for
Casey Kotchman and minor league
pitcher Stephen Marek. Batting third in the Angel order, Teixeira hit .358 with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs after the trade to help his new team to their first 100-win season in franchise history. Through 2011, he was one of seven major leaguers to have had at least four 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons in their first five years, along with
Chuck Klein,
Joe DiMaggio,
Ted Williams,
Ralph Kiner,
Albert Pujols, and
Ryan Braun. Teixeira made his postseason debut with a .467 batting average, 7 hits and an RBI. His new team of the Angels would lose the
2008 ALDS to the
Boston Red Sox in 4 games. Teixeira declared for free agency at the end of the season.
New York Yankees 2009 In December 2008, Teixeira agreed preliminarily to a deal with the
New York Yankees worth $180 million over 8 years, and he was formally introduced as a Yankee on January 6, 2009. The contract included a full no-trade clause, plus a $5 million
signing bonus. He signed with the Yankees over a number of other clubs, including the
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim,
Boston Red Sox,
Washington Nationals and
Baltimore Orioles. The signing with the Yankees reunited Teixeira with teammate Alex Rodriguez who played for the Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2003. Teixeira wore the number 25 instead of his preferred number 23, since 23 is retired in honor of
Don Mattingly. Mattingly was Teixeira's childhood idol, and was the reason Teixeira wore 23 earlier in his career. The signing became official on January 6, 2009. In the 2009 season, he led the AL in both home runs (tied with
Carlos Peña of Tampa Bay) with 39, and RBI with 122. Teixeira received a
World Series ring as the
Yankees won the
2009 World Series, but struggled offensively throughout the postseason, batting only .180 overall and .136 in the World Series. However, several of his hits proved very important, including a walk-off home run in Game 2 of the
ALDS and a game-tying home run in Game 2 of the World Series. Additionally, he made several stellar defensive plays in all rounds of the playoffs. For the 2009 season, Teixeira was awarded both the
Gold Glove and
Silver Slugger awards for the American League first baseman. He also finished second in the
AL MVP balloting behind Twins' catcher
Joe Mauer.
2010 On April 23, against the Angels, Teixeira was involved in a home-plate collision with
Bobby Wilson while sliding home. Teixeira confessed that the collision was not intentional, and was not disciplined by the league for his action. On May 8, Teixeira became the second Yankees player to hit three home runs in one game against the
Boston Red Sox, joining
Lou Gehrig, who accomplished the feat on June 23, 1927. On June 20, against the
New York Mets, Teixeira hit a grand slam off
Johan Santana, proving to be the Yankees' only offense of the game in the 4–0 victory. Once again, Teixeira won the
2010 Gold Glove Award for American League first basemen. In 158 games of 2010, Teixeira finished with a .256 average, 33 home runs, and 108 runs batted in. He also led the American League with 113 runs scored. In the
2010 ALCS, Teixeira injured his hamstring, and did not play for the remainder of the playoffs. The Yankees lost the series to the Rangers in six games.
2011 On June 30, 2011, Teixeira hit his 300th career home run off
Randy Wolf of the
Milwaukee Brewers. On August 2, 2011, Teixeira hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game for the 12th time in his career, breaking a three-way tie with
Chili Davis and
Eddie Murray for the most such games all-time. In August 2011, Teixeira and
Curtis Granderson became the first Yankees teammates to have 30 home runs in 115 games since
Roger Maris and
Mickey Mantle in 1961. Through 2011, he had the third-best career fielding percentage among major league first basemen (.996), behind
Casey Kotchman and
Kevin Youkilis. During the 2011 year, Teixeira batted .248 with 39 home runs and 111 RBI in 156 games. Teixeira continued his postseason struggles in 2011 as he batted only .167 with 1 RBI in a 5-game ALDS loss to the
Detroit Tigers.
2012 On March 1, 2012, Teixeira hired
Casey Close of Excel Sports Management to be his agent. This came almost a year after Teixeira parted ways with Boras. Close also represented fellow Yankees
Derek Jeter and
Masahiro Tanaka, as well as
Ryan Howard. Throughout the 2012 season, Teixeira was plagued with several health issues and injuries such as a "persistent and almost debilitating" cough caused by severe congestion of the
bronchi, wrist inflammation, and a calf strain. In July, former teammate
Vicente Padilla accused Teixiera of being racist against
Hispanic players during his time in Texas; Teixeira denied the claims. Teixeira spent some time on the disabled list with the calf strain from late August until early September. After committing a disputed double play in a 5-4 loss against the Orioles, Teixeira aggravated his calf and was put on the DL again. He would eventually return for the season finale against the Red Sox. He finished the 2012 season with a .251 batting average, 24 home runs, and 84 RBI in 123 games played. The Yankees would again make the playoffs, but lose to the Tigers in a 4-game sweep of the 2012 ALCS. Following the season, Teixeira won the
2012 Gold Glove Award for American League first basemen. He won a
Fielding Bible Award as the best fielding first baseman in MLB. He was named the Yankees' nominee for the 2012
Roberto Clemente Award.
2013 On March 6, 2013, Teixeira suffered a strained wrist tendon while he was part of Team USA of the
World Baseball Classic. Teixeira began the 2013 season on the 15-day disabled list, and was transferred to the 60-day disabled list on May 14. He returned on May 31, 2013, against the Red Sox going 0−3 with a walk and scoring a run. He aggravated the wrist on June 15, 2013, and the next day, he received cortisone injections to treat the inflammation of the wrist. He was again placed on the 15-day DL due to the inflammation on June 18, 2013. Teixeira played in only 15 games during the 2013 season with a .151 average, 3 home runs, and 12 RBI. On July 1, 2013, Teixeira underwent wrist surgery and was shut down for the rest of the season.
2014 During a game against the
Toronto Blue Jays on April 4, 2014, Teixeira left the game after a hamstring injury while trying to fetch a foul ball in foul territory. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list the following day on April 5, 2014. He was activated on April 20, 2014. During a game against the
Pittsburgh Pirates on May 17, 2014, Teixeira hit his 350th career home run off of
Edinson Vólquez. On May 31, 2014, Teixeira aggravated his wrist that was surgically repaired the previous year. He received a cortisone shot to treat the wrist and missed two games. During a game against the Orioles on June 22, 2014, Teixeira left the game after being hit in the toe of the left foot by a pitch from
T. J. McFarland. X-rays came back negative on the toe injury. On September 4, 2014, Teixeira hit his 21st home run of the season, which was a game-tying, solo home run that paved the way for a walk-off 5–4 victory over the Red Sox. In 2014, Teixeira batted only .216, but still hit 22 home runs with 62 RBI limited to 123 games.
2015 Teixeira experienced a resurgent season in 2015, being named to his third All-Star team, hitting his most home runs in a season since 2011. During a game against the Minnesota Twins on August 17, 2015, Teixeira fouled a ball off his leg and left the game. X-rays were negative, but it was projected that he had a deep bone bruise in his leg. Listed as day-to-day, Teixeira missed nearly two weeks and was sent back to New York on August 31, 2015, to visit Yankees head team physician, Dr. Christopher Ahmad to seek second opinions. On September 1, Teixeira underwent CAT scans, x-rays, and MRIs, all testing negative. On September 4, Teixeira was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to the nagging bone bruise. On September 11, Teixeira underwent further tests and an MRI revealed a fracture in his shin, which eventually ended his 2015 season. The injury required three months to recover. In 111 games of 2015, Teixeira batted .255 with 31 home runs and 79 RBI.
2016 Teixeira struggled to open the season. On May 10, 2016, Teixeira revealed that he had been battling neck spasms. On May 25, he underwent an MRI on his neck, which was negative. The next day, he received a cortisone shot to treat the pain in his neck. In a game against the
Orioles on June 3, he left the game due to right knee discomfort. He underwent an MRI the next day, which revealed that there was torn
articular cartilage, placing him on the 15-day disabled list. Hoping to avoid surgery, Teixeira opted for treatment and rehabilitation on June 8. He was activated on June 25. While playing the
San Diego Padres on July 3, Teixeira hit two home runs, including his 400th career home run. He became only the fifth switch-hitter to hit 400 home runs in a career. He followed teammate and fellow switch-hitter
Carlos Beltrán, who had also hit his 400th career home run for the Yankees less than two months earlier on May 15. Another former teammate who also accomplished this feat was
Chipper Jones, with whom Teixeira briefly played as a member of the Atlanta Braves. On August 5, Teixeira held a press conference in which he announced his intent to retire at the end of the season, citing his family life and the year's injuries. On September 28, Teixeira hit the final home run of his career, which was a walk-off grand slam off Boston Red Sox pitcher
Joe Kelly. It was the first game-ending home run Teixeira had ever hit in a regular-season game. On September 30, prior to a game against the Orioles, Teixeira was honored by the rock band
Twisted Sister during a pregame ceremony. The band gifted Teixeira an
Epiphone Les Paul guitar with signatures from everyone in the band. The song "
I Wanna Rock" was used as Teixeira's walk-up song since he first joined the Yankees. October 2 was Teixeira's final game of his career. Prior to the game, another pregame ceremony took place with his wife and three children visiting. He received several gifts, including a framed jersey and an autographed base. He finished the game 0 for 3 and left the game in the 7th inning as the Yankees lost 5–2 to the Orioles. In 116 games of his final season in the majors, Teixeira batted .204 with 15 home runs and 44 RBI.
Coaching career Teixeira served as the hitting coach for the National League team in the 2024
All-Star Futures Game. ==Awards==