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Apparently, getting
Mark Teixeira fitted to a pair of
Carmine Hose was closer than we all think. In
a wide-ranging exclusive interview with
FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal, Teixeira reveals what happened with Tito and Theo back in 2008:
'They came to Dallas. My agent (at the time, Scott Boras) and I met with their brass at the airport hotel. I thought we were there to finish the contract. It was an interesting conversation. My agent had to say, “Listen, guys, I thought you were going to beat everyone else. But you’re offering the same contract as everyone else. We’re not going to make a decision right now.” They were unhappy with that. I was at the meeting, but I was not involved with the negotiation at all. I sat there and listened. But I loved Tito (Terry Francona). I love Theo Epstein. I think Theo Epstein is a genius — look at what he’s doing with the Cubs. I thought it was going to be like hey, let’s shake hands and hug it out at the end. At the time, I had three or four offers on the table that were almost exactly the same. (Boras) said, “Guys, we’re not going to sign this right now.” So, we just kept negotiating with the other teams. And New York ended up on top.' In the eight years after that failed meeting, here are the switch-hitter's numbers:
.248 AVG, 203 HRs, 615 RBIs, .820 OPS. Four of those years, he hit 30+ HRs. And, of course, there are his five
Gold Gloves at first base. It might have been a good move to ante up a little more.
