Garrett Jones has Yankee moment in the early morning hours Wednesday in Bombers’ 5-3 win in Seattle.
Healthy & confident, Tex putting up huge numbers
SEATTLE — Back in spring training, Mark Teixeira said repeatedly that he was aiming for a season of 30 home runs and 100 RBI, numbers he commonly associates with a successful year. He might want to start setting those goals higher. “Thirty and 100 is who I’ve always been and what I want to be,” Teixeira said in late-February. “If I can do that, then I know I’m helping the team out.”
Teixeira’s grand slam Monday night against Felix Hernandez was his 15th home run of the season, putting him on pace for 47 home runs and 122 RBI.
“We knew he was capable of doing these type of things when he’s healthy, but 15 homers at this time is an awful lot of homers,” Joe Girardi said. “It’s on pace for 45, and that’s a lot. But anything Mark does doesn’t really surprise me.”
Teixeira reached that 30-100 mark in eight consecutive years between 2004-2011, establishing himself as one of the most consistent power hitters in baseball. His first three years with the Yankees saw him average 37 homers and 114 RBI, making his eight-year, $180 million contract seem like a great deal.
Injuries — most notably the wrist injury he suffered with Team USA in the 2013 World Baseball Classic — sidetracked Teixeira starting in 2012, costing him 39 games in 2012, 147 games in 2013 and another 39 last season.
He was on pace for a Teixeira-like campaign last year after hitting 17 home runs with 48 RBI during the first half, but his wrist and body wore down. He has five home runs and 14 RBI in 50 games after the All-Star break.
Entering Tuesday’s game, health had not been an issue this year for Teixeira, who had played in 49 of the Yankees’ first 52 games. His .241 average was far from ideal, but he had a .358 on-base percentage and a team-high .566 slugging percentage, his 15 homers ranking second in the American League and his 39 RBI leading the entire field.
“I’m just very thankful,” Teixeira said. “I’m very thankful for the health and I just hope that continues. The first two months have been so far, so good. I want to continue it.”
The Yankees entered Tuesday with 235 runs scored, second only to the Blue Jays (268) in the AL. That was despite a .245 average that ranked 11th in the league, a number largely due to the atrocious performance of the bottom third of the lineup, which had combined for a .199 average, 10 home runs and 44 RBI.
Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez have been a major reason for that, having combined for 26 of the Yankees’ 64 home runs and 66 of their 225 RBI, both second among all AL offenses.
“He’s been a huge part,” Girardi said of Teixeira. “Forty RBIs, the home runs, the on-base. He’s been right in the center of a lot of our big days, and his bat is ever so important to our lineup.”
Teixeira has had a knack for producing with runners on base, having posted a 1.048 OPS with men on and a .907 OPS with runners in scoring position. Nine of his 15 homers had come with at least one runner on base. “I’ve talked about, over my years here, he’s a great RBI guy,” Girardi said. “He just knows how to drive in runs, and that’s what he’s done for us.”
“He’s been tremendous,” Chase Headley said. “He’s getting on base, he’s driving in runs and he has hit a lot of home runs for us. He’s been great. He’s been huge in the middle of our lineup and obviously with him and Al swinging the bat the way they are and Mac (Brian McCann) coming around, I think we’ve got a pretty good middle of the lineup going now.”
Many doubted Teixeira’s ability to return to the ranks of the elite power hitters at the age of 35, especially given his wrist problems the past couple years. Teixeira has expressed confidence in himself all along, but is he even surprised at his production over the first two months?
“Nothing really surprises me, good or bad, in baseball,” Teixeira said. “There are some weird stats out there this early. It’s still early. Fifty games into the season, you see some weird stats. For me, if I stay healthy, I know what the numbers are going to look like at the end of the year.”