Mark Teixeira says wife Leigh Teixeira was instrumental in his decision to sign with the Yankees.
After weeks of discussions about Mark’s options, and him asking Leigh, “Where do you want to go? Where do you want me to play?” she told him during a “date night” at the Vaquero Club in Westlake, TX, on December 12, “I want you to be happy. I just want you to be happy.” finally saying, “I want you to be a Yankee,” and it was a done deal.
The switch-hitting first baseman was presented with his number 25 pinstriped jersey in the Sony Diamond Club at the old Yankee Stadium, during a news conference on January 6, after finalizing an eight-year, $180 million deal initially agreed to Dec. 23.
Leigh, who grew up in Georgia, and Mark, who grew up in Baltimore, were college sweethearts while attending Georgia Tech and have two children, Jack and Addison Leigh.
View photos of Mark and Leigh Teixeira and Leigh’s inteview video below.