T.R.'s Memoirs: Mark Teixeira was the voice of a Texas Rangers youth movement that never met expectations
The first baseman was an All-Star who became the centerpiece of the Rangers' lineup, and then a trade that changed the franchise.
Editor’s note: T.R. Sullivan covered the Texas Rangers over 32 years for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and MLB.com and is sharing his “memoirs” with this newsletter. In this installment, T.R. looks back on the Rangers career of first baseman Mark Teixeira and his impact — good and bad — on the franchise. He is the best position player ever drafted by the Rangers, but his place club history is unique to say the least.
In 1996, Rafael Palmeiro hit .289 with 39 home runs, 142 RBIs and a .546 slugging percentage for the Orioles. He was 31 years old.
In 2011, Mark Teixeira hit .248 with 39 home runs, 111 RBIs and a .494 slugging percentage for the Yankees. He was 31 years old. At that point, Teixeira had played in 1,374 games in his career and Palmeiro had played in 1,462. Palmeiro also had 270 more at-bats.
At that point, Teixeira had been more the productive player. His slash line was .281/.373/.532. That comes out to a .904 OPS with 314 home runs and 1,017 RBIs.
By comparison, Palmeiro was sitting with a slash line of 298/.367/.498. His OPS was .865 and he had 233 home runs and 848 RBIs. Defensively, they were both multi-Gold Glove winners.
Most people know what happened after each player turned 31. Palmeiro had seven more seasons of at least 100 RBIs. Teixeira had none. Instead, he went through a series of injuries and surgeries that reduced his productivity. He was 36 when he finally retired with 409 home runs and 1,862 hits.
Palmeiro was 40 when he played his final season, finishing with 569 home runs and 1,835 RBIs. He really didn’t retire so much but was forced out of the game after testing positive for steroids during the 2005 season.
Palmeiro still claims the test was either an accident or a setup or something, but he steadfastly denies having ever used steroids. It doesn’t matter.
Palmeiro, despite obvious statistical credentials, is not in the Hall of Fame. His chances of being selected by the Baseball Writers Association of America ended in 2014 — his fourth year of eligibility — when he received less than 5% of the vote.
Teixeira is eligible for the first time this year, but will not get elected to the Hall of Fame. Teixeira will have a hard time even mustering 5% of the vote to even stay on the ballot again next year.
Statistically, Teixeira is to Palmeiro what Michael Young was to Paul Molitor. Young and Molitor were comparable players. But Molitor is in the Hall of Fame because he kept having great years long past the age in which Young retired because of family considerations.