I had no idea Teix hasn't been a fan of the Sox for some time. I knew he wore #23 in honor of his hero, Donnie Baseball, but the dislike of the Red Sox is new to me. (emphasis mine)
As a senior, Teixeira was one of the best high school players in the country but went to Georgia Tech instead of signing a pro contract. The Red Sox had talked about choosing him in the first round, but wanted him to commit to a pre-draft contract. Teixeira refused a reported $1.6 million deal and fell to the ninth round, when Boston selected him.
After the '98 draft, Teixeira held hard feelings against Boston, telling the Baltimore Sun in 1999: "The Red Sox then spread the word I wasn't interested in signing. That was unfair. I don't think after what happened that I want any future involvement with the Red Sox."
It's unclear whether that will affect his first shot at free agency, but [Dave Norton, who was Teixeira's coach at Mount St. Joseph High School in Baltimore] says, "I can't say he'll never be a Red Sox, but they would have to go pretty hard at him. It didn't sit well with him."
2 comments:
I wonder if anyone has told him that it was a completely different front office and ownership when he was drafted the first time.
I emailed him and said that Duquette still thinks he's a classless punk.
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