Thank you, Mark!

How can I start this off?

As the 2016 season draws to a close, so does the career of our first baseman, the five-time gold glove winner (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 ,2012), three-time All-Star (2005, 2009, 2015), and one-time World Series champion with the Yankees (2009), Mark Charles Teixeira. Reflecting back, I can personally say that I took Teixeira's presence for granted. Next season, we will be without our defensive powerhouse at first base, a presence that will be greatly missed in the infield. With his departure, the infield will no longer have any members from the 2009 championship team. The core of that 2009 team was destined for more winning, but it never came to fruition. That story can be told at another time because this is Teixeira's moment.

Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images

Even though Teixeira has been on a steady decline offensively, his defense never wavered. Regardless of this, he still showed us his ability to hit the ball hard and amaze us Yankees fans. This was proven by what will likely be the final grand slam of his career against the Red Sox.

But let’s not forget how he got to this point. In 2001, he was drafted by the Texas Rangers. Fast forward eight years, and two teams along the way, Teixeira landed in the Bronx. The path was not always so easy for Teixeira, but his will and spirt never lost subsided. Teixeira kept growing both on and off the field, molding him into the player that we were able to see for eight years in New York.

During these past years as a Yankee, Mark has been a great example of loyalty and admiration for the team and to us fans. Even as some fans bash Teixeira today for his lack of productivity and inability to stay on the field, it still does not change the fact that he was at one point a player to be feared on offensively and defensively. Now, that chapter is coming to a close just as another one is starting to open.

Teixeira was the bearer of change, knowing that his time was up. In a tearful press conference, the words he spoke were not the words of a man who has made millions off of being a baseball player, but rather the words of a kid who grew up playing the game of baseball. We gained a glimpse into that person rather than the one we see out there on the field. This moment provided an important lesson to everyone watching that press conference. You will never believe something is over, until it is over. This is especially true when talking about athletes like Tex, whose whole life has been focused on the game of baseball.

But alas, the finish line is within our sight. Today, let’s all pay our gratitude to the career of a great player in this era of the Yankees.

On behalf of all Yankee Fans,

Thank you Mark.

Article by Daron Vasquez

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