A former Yankees slugger affectionately nicknamed “Tex” is trying to become Congressman Tex—in Texas.
Mark Teixeria, a first baseman who played 14 MLB seasons and won the 2009 World Series with the Yankees, announced that he will run for Congress in Texas’s 21st district as a Republican.
The seat is currently occupied by Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican deficit hawk who is leaving Congress to try to replace Texas’s embattled Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“As a lifelong conservative who loves this country, I’m running for Congress to fight for the principles that make Texas and America great,” Teixeria wrote on X.
Big news: I’m ready to go! As a lifelong conservative who loves this country, I’m running for Congress to fight for the principles that make Texas and America great. It takes teamwork to win – I’m ready to help defend President Trump’s America First agenda, Texas families,… pic.twitter.com/bVb6j9qP6i
— Mark Teixeira (@teixeiramark25) August 28, 2025
In his campaign announcement, Teixeira flexed his accomplishments on the diamond—which include five Gold Gloves, three Silver Slugger Awards, and 409 career home runs—and his volunteer work with a conservative think-tank based in Austin.
The former switch-hitter and devout Catholic appeared on a panel in 2024 hosted by the Texas Public Policy Foundation focused on parent empowerment, where he said God had “called him to do something more than hitting a baseball.”
His campaign website lists border security, the economy, and education as his top three issues, with goals including expanding DOGE and ending “radical woke indoctrination.”
He also indicated support for implementing term limits for members of Congress.
Teixeira started his career with the Texas Rangers, where he set the franchise record for most consecutive games played. He played briefly for the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels before signing a massive free-agent contract with the Yankees prior to the 2009 season.
Teixeira became immortalized in Yankee history with his playoff heroics that year, despite only hitting .180 overall in the postseason.
His walk-off home run in Game 2 of the American League Division Series helped the Yankees advance past the Minnesota Twins, and he also hit a clutch game-tying home run in Game 2 of the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The 21st district is located in Texas Hill Country, about 100 miles west of Austin. It includes Kerr County, the site of the deadly flash floods that took place in July.
It would be unaffected by the redistricting bill championed by Governor Greg Abbott, although it is directly adjacent to District 35, a San Antonio district that will be totally redrawn.
Most of Teixeira’s social media posts in recent years have focused on baseball or his alma mater, Georgia Tech. His campaign announcement says that he lives with his family in central Texas and attends church in Austin. He lived in the wealthy Connecticut enclave of Greenwich from 2009 to 2021.
Teixeira joins a group of athletes-turned-Republican-politicians, which in recent years includes failed Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker, Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, and HUD Secretary Scott Turner.
The post Yankees World Series Hero Announces Run for Congress appeared first on The Daily Beast.
