Yankees Teixiera has a wide range of interests in retirement

The Yankees lost two players to retirement at the end of 2016. One appears regularly on Page Six. The other can only be found in the news section of newspapers pursuing a broad range of interests.

Former Yankees first baseman, Mark Teixeira‘s booming bat never quite matched his personality. Quiet and cerebral, Teixeira chose to fade into retirement at the end of the 2016 season with little or no fanfare.

Emboldened by the fact that he knows he left everything on the field by giving baseball all that he had, Teixeira has zero regrets. In fact, you can hear the relief in his words when he tells Brian Hoch of MLB.com:

"“There’s zero itch. Mentally, I’m not even close to being prepared for baseball,” Teixeira said. “Physically, if you told me that I had to go down to Tampa and get prepared for a season right now, I just couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it. I’m going to miss hitting home runs, I’m going to miss big wins, I’m going to miss hanging out with the guys. But the grind of getting through a season, I’m not going to miss at all.”"

So what does a college educated family man in his early forties with a net worth of $75 million do with the rest of his life? Teixeira decided on two things right away.

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First, he and his wife, Leigh, planned a long-awaited trip to Italy. Then, Teixeira accepted an analyst position with ESPN. Before he took on that responsibility, and he does view it seriously, Teixeira ensured that nearly all of his assignments would be close to home as studio work in Bristol, Connecticut.

Beyond that, though, The Yankees slugger has launched a wide range of activities that demonstrate a man with an abundance of energy and thought.

For instance, in a week or so, Teixeira will be part of a panel introducing and commenting on short and feature-length films at The 3rd annual Greenwich International Film Festival. Panel participants also include Sophia Bush, Flo Rida, and Renee Zellweger.

You can also find Teixeira far removed from his days with the Yankees, mentioned in newspapers like the Salt Lake Tribune because he now has the time to focus his attention on a life-long area of interest, our environment.

As a native of the area, Teixeira’s attention is currently devoted to the immediate vicinity of Atlanta, Georgia. Teixeira explains his passion:

"“I like to see athletes get involved in anything they’re passionate about,” Teixeira said. “One thing that’s great about athletes is their competitive desire is substantial. If we can take a cause — whether it’s the environment or childhood cancer or homelessness — and attack that cause with the same passion that we played our sport, good things are going to happen.”"

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, Teixeira has been instrumental in getting the city to commit millions of dollars toward building a multi-use trail that will eventually run the 7-mile length of the creek, from its origins near downtown to the spot where it dumps into the Chattahoochee River

And finally, with fond remembrances of his childhood, Teixeira has also entered a partnership with Canon U.S.A. that will culminate on August 27 at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania when three lucky winners of a photo contest will get to meet the former Yankees slugger.

Teixeira explained his interest to IT Business Net this way:

"“As a former MLB player, there are countless photos of me playing professionally, but as a father, I now appreciate the importance of capturing the early years there’s nothing like that first Little League photo of your child,”"

In retirement, Mark Teixeira pursues life with all of the vigor and vitality he demonstrated during his illustrious 8-year career with the Yankees. Having the time now, he’s launched into a wide scope of activity, with more that is yet to come.

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Good for you, Mark. We do miss you, though.