New York Yankees

Content Mark Teixeira says, "I'll Always Be a Yankee"

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira seems at peace with his legacy in pinstripes following the final game of his 14 year career Monday.

Mark Teixeira’s final game with the New York Yankees was a quiet 5-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. The 36-year-old went 0-for-3 on the night, although he did make two pretty nice plays in the field. It may have been anti-climactic, especially following Tex’s walk off grand slam against Boston a few days earlier, but the team’s long-time first baseman didn’t seem to mind.

Teixeira has struggled to stay on the field all year, battling neck and knee injuries that have caused made every game a painful proposition. He recently told Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, “That’s a big part of why I’m retiring. It’s not fun being in pain. Just being a normal person it’s not fun being in pain, and then trying to do it as an athlete …”

While the Yankees coaching staff and players have already begun thinking about next season, Teixeira seems happy to just be in the moment and enjoy having no obligations. He told reporters following his final contest:

I’m not leaving my house tomorrow. I told my wife, if it’s nice outside I’ll play outside with the kids, but I’m not leaving the house. I’m not going anywhere. I just want to enjoy doing nothing for a day. Tuesday, I’m going to play golf.

At the same time, it doesn’t sound like we’ve seen the last of Teixeira at Yankee Stadium. He went on to say:

[The Yankees] are the team that I’ll always be remembered for, I think. In my mind, I’m going to live here for a really, really long time and be coming to Yankee Stadium and take my kids to games here. Hopefully if they honor the 2009 World Series sometime soon I’ll be back with all my old teammates. I’ll always be a Yankee.

With his combination of charisma and intelligence, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Tex resurface as an analyst at some point. It would be incredibly fun to have him join Yankee greats David Cone and Paul O’Neill in the YES broadcast booth.

He also mentioned he would like to return to the team in a similar role to former teammate Alex Rodriguez, who is currently working with Yankees prospects in the Fall Instructional League. Tex seems like a strong big league hitting coach candidate down the road, but he made it clear he will be taking at least a season or two off completely before that is a consideration.