As strange as it seems, the most fond memory that I hold of Mark Teixeira isn't his walk off in 2009 or his walk off grand slam just last week, it's him busting it down the line to beat out a double play in the 9th inning. Mark was nursing an injured calf, but there were runners on 1st and 3rd with only one out, the runner at 3rd being the tying run. Even though he hits a little dribbler to the second baseman, he hustles down the line despite the calf injury and makes a headfirst dive into first to avoid hurting himself furthermore. He can't believe that he's called out, and the emotion he displays just shows how much the game meant to him. The funny part is, the title of the video is Yanks lose on close play. I didn't know being safe by a yard was considered close! I couldn't download the video to this post, so I left the link below.
To me, that sums up his career in 2 minutes. 400+ home runs, lots of gold gloves, a career full of injuries, and a heart set to play the game he loved. Now with Teixeira leaving, it's like all the players that I watched growing up are gone with the exception of Gardner and Sabathia.
It won't be the same!
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Thank you for reading!
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