New York Yankees: Mark Teixeira Ends The Game With A Walk-Off Grand Slam
On a night where the Boston Red Sox clinched the AL East title, Mark Teixeira had something to say about it and made a defining moment in his Yankee career.
As many may know, Mark Teixeira will be retiring at season’s and untie his cleats for one final time. Before the Yankees first baseman rides off into the sunset, he wanted to make sure he went out with a bang.
Entering the bottom of the ninth inning the Yankees were losing to the Red Sox 3-0 and with Craig Kimbrel coming to the mound the Yankees chances at coming back and winning were looking very bleak. The Bronx Bombers did not sit down and settle for the loss one bit. Brett Gardner began the inning with a single through the middle followed by three straight walks to Jacoby Ellsbury, Gary Sanchez, and Brian McCann, Kimbrel could not find the strike zone if he wanted to.
Due to Kimbrel having problems throwing strikes, Red Sox manager John Farrell was forced to pull the plug on the closer and bring in Joe Kelly from the bullpen. Kelly would come in and make quick work of Starlin Castro and Didi Gregorius, bringing all of the weight on the shoulders of the Yankees final hope Mark Teixeira.
When Tex was walking up to the batter’s box he only had one thing in his eyes, determination. He was determined to send the Yankee fans home happy and prevent the Red Sox from celebrating on his home field. After seeing the first pitch called a strike Teixeira had a look on his face where you could tell he was not dropping his bat until he won the game for his team, and that he did.
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Kelly tried to run a 99 mph fastball past the veteran first baseman but he failed miserably, Tex would get all of it and rocket it into the Yankees bullpen. As the ball landed in the pen, Tex pumped his hands up in the air while rounding first base and began to prepare for the mob scene he was going to endure once he crossed home plate.
Teixeira would then go on to be doused in two containers of Gatorade in a moment of time he will certainly never forget. He was then awarded the New York Yankees championship title as he was being interviewed for the post-game by Meredith Marakovits.
Mark Teixeira will undoubtedly go down in Yankees history as one of the franchise’s best first baseman and will never be forgotten by Yankee fans for his clutch hitting and spectacular fielding skills.
As Yankee fans prepare to say goodbye to Tex, it is important to remember how crucial he has been to the success of the team since his arrival as well as his clutch hitting in the 2009 postseason as well many other times throughout his contract.
