World Series champion and former Angels first baseman launches political career

While the current Angels team may be making headlines for all of the wrong reasons, a former slugger of theirs is making headlines of his own as he enters a new realm in his post-playing career. Former World Series champion and Los Angeles Angels' first baseman Mark Teixeira announced on Thursday that he would be running for Congress in Texas' 21st District.

In his campaign announcement, Teixeira stated "As a lifelong conservative who loves this country, I'm runnin for Congress to fight for the principles that make Texas and America great. It takes teamwork to win - I'm ready to help defend President Trump's America First agenda, Texas families, and individual liberty."

The Angels traded for Teixeira during the 2008 season, when they sent first baseman Casey Kotchman and pitching prospect Stephen Marek to the Atlanta Braves for half a season of the All Star first baseman. The Angels were the runner-up for Teixeira's services during the trade frenzy in 2007, where he was dealt to Atlanta. Teixeira played great for the Angels, posting an OPS+ of 181 in 54 games as the team went on to win 100 games for the first time in franchise history, win the American League West, and eventually lose to the Boston Red Sox in the American League Divisional Series. Teixeria went to a different level in the postseason, hitting .467 for the Halos in seven games.

Teixeira famously left the Angels for the New York Yankees in the offseason, where he would win his first World Series and build greatly on his resume for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Teixeira fell short of this honor in 2022 despite being a member of the 400 home run club. During his playing days, Teixeira was one of the more vocal players in favor of stricter performance enhancing drug testing (despite having his own PED-positive rumors during his playing days).

Since his retirement following the 2016 season, Teixeira has largely been out of the spotlight. Now, he steps into a major spotlight aligning himself alongside President Trump and promising to secure the border despite most of the country holding protests raising their voices against the ICE takeover and deportation policies and actions of the Trump administration. And while Teixeira's name alone will have value in Texas - he began his career there - this could be a case of Teixeria swinging for the fences despite no longer having his power stroke.

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