With a $180 million contract, you’d think Mark Teixeira would be able to buy himself a couple more hits.
Despite having some of the best swings of the ALDS, Teixeira couldn’t help the Yankees stave off elimination in the 3-2 loss of Game 5. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.
The 31-year-old first baseman ended his third postseason with the Yankees earlier than he ever had, with a bat that has gotten consistently colder when the weather does.
Teixeira finished the series batting .167 (3-for-18) with one RBI and two runs, and was unable to shake off a season that resulted in a career-low .248 batting average. The two-time All-Star’s postseason struggles are becoming an October staple — almost rivaling those of Alex Rodriguez.
In his first season with the Yankees, Teixeira struggled with a .180 postseason average that was largely ignored as the team beat the Phillies in the World Series. Last season, Teixeira began to show that performance was more than an aberration, hitting .148 in the playoffs, which included an 0-for-14 showing in the ALCS loss to the Rangers.
Last night, Teixeira was on his way to erasing the bad will, hitting a ground-rule double in the second inning, only to be stranded by Nick Swisher and Jorge Posada.
After Rodriguez led off the fourth with a walk, Teixeira flew out to left before leading off the sixth against Max Scherzer. The switch-hitter crushed the eighth pitch of the at-bat to deep center, only to watch Austin Jackson catch it on the warning track.
In the seventh, trailing by two with two outs and the bases loaded, Teixeira worked an RBI walk off of Joaquin Benoit to drive in Derek Jeter and cut the Tigers’ lead to one.
Teixeira was due up fourth in the ninth inning, needing someone in the heart of the order to reach base so he would see the plate. But with Teixeira on deck and two outs, Rodriguez struck out and ended the Yankees’ season.
Teixeira could only watch, wanting one more chance, wondering what would’ve happened.
