How baseball sparked a former Yankees All-Star to run for Congress

Weeks after his 2012 Major League Baseball season ended, New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira stepped inside a 40,000-square-foot ballroom for a Mitt Romney watch party at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

That evening of Nov. 6 ended like his baseball season on Oct.18: with crushing disappointment. 

Nineteen days after the Detroit Tigers eliminated the Yankees in the American League Championship Series, Barack Obama defeated Romney to become the nation’s 44th President.

“That was my first taste of politics,” Teixeira recalled. “It was a rough time for Republicans. But it kind of sparked an interest.”

An interest and a realization: “I’m not going to play baseball forever.” 

Almost 14 years later, Teixeira turned that realization into ambition. He is running for Congress in District 21, which has a striking Republican lean. In his first bid for office, Teixeira brings celebrity, wealth and the endorsement of President Donald Trump to a House race in a ruby-red district.

The political neophyte shredded a field of 10 opponents to win the March GOP primary with 61% of the vote. The vanquished included a former Federal Election Commission chair, a financial analyst who once worked for J.P. Morgan and a software engineer who worked with a team that discovered water on the moon.

Did the outcome surprise Teixeira?

“I didn’t know what to expect,” he said of the race to fill the seat vacated by Chip Roy. “But I had a great team. We got out there and met probably way more people than any other candidate. I got in front of lots of different types of people. It wasn’t just political groups. I got in front of schools and churches and hospitals and small businesses.” 

A confident campaign

Only Democrat Kristin Hook, a biological scientist, stands between Teixeira and a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Hook defeated two opponents to win the Democratic primary with 60% of the vote. 

Her campaign has raised $244,000 compared to her opponent’s $4.2 million, which includes a $2.5 million personal loan from Teixeira. 

Given his name recognition, fundraising advantage and the Republican-friendly district of his campaign, does Teixeira have any concern about his opponent?

“No,” he said.

On a recent weekday, Teixeira sat in the Blanco Cafe across from City Hall, eating a taco salad. Between bites, he reflected on the genesis of his political journey, discussed his policy priorities and revealed the subject he gets asked about every day on the campaign trail.

The war in Iran. 

“They’re asking, ‘What do you know?’” he said. “And I’m saying, ‘I know what you know.’ Because I don’t get any security briefings. I don’t get any inside information. I don’t get any type of classified information. And they’re kind of a little disappointed because they wish I had some sort of magical insight into what’s really going on. When I am a member of Congress, I will have more information.” 

Teixeira launched his campaign in August to advance Trump’s America First agenda. When the U.S. launched a massive military offensive against Iran six months later, Teixeira supported the President’s decision to bomb nuclear installations across the nation. 

“This is the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terrorism,” Teixeira said. “It’s actually pretty simple. If you have nuclear enrichment above 10% — and theirs, by the way got to 60% — that’s showing us that you are indeed planning to have a (nuclear) weapon. And that’s unacceptable for a terrorist state like Iran.” 

Voters in Congressional District 21, which includes a northern swath of San Antonio, care just as much, or perhaps more, about domestic matters, such as the economy, immigration, healthcare and water management.

On these issues, Teixeira views public policy, predictably, through a conservative lens. Consider immigration: “I firmly believe that we don’t need a lot of new laws,” he said. “We need to enforce the laws that are on the books.”

A rookie on the campaign trail, Teixeira casts himself as an outsider, a fresh voice who will bring new energy to Capitol Hill. That posture, along with his values and temperament, resonate with Greater San Antonio Chamber CEO and President Jeff Webster. 

“When we met, the first thing he talked about was faith and his family and he followed it by, ‘l’m not going to be making a career of this,’” Webster said. “Mark absolutely got it. He’s called me for information and help. I’ve hosted a couple of meet and greets for him. People need to know this guy.”

One Northside city leader felt the need to meet Teixeira. Congressional District 21 overlaps with more than half of San Antonio’s District 9, which Misty Spears represents on City Council. So Spears invited him to coffee near City Hall.

“He’s surprisingly humble for the life he’s had,” Spears said. “We talked about the issues that San Antonio faces and the things we need and how he could help. He’s good at listening and finding a way to apply what he hears.”

From the diamond to the political sphere

Teixeira developed an ear in baseball. He heard the relentless noise, the deafening cheers and resounding boos, and developed a thick skin needed for politics. He played on good teams (the Yankees won 103 games and the World Series in 2009) and bad teams (the Texas Rangers lost 91 games in 2003). He made three All-Star teams and won five Gold Gloves, but also endured notorious hitting slumps and suffered a rash of injuries late in his career.

“I think that’s made it easier for me,” Teixeira said. “Most people that run for office the first time have never been in the public spotlight. They’ve never done a media interview or if they have, it’s been on a very small scale. They’ve never been around hundreds or thousands of people, who, a lot of times, were very angry at you. 

“As a baseball player, unless I went 4-for-4 and we won, there were fans that were going to be upset with me. And there were gonna be tough questions after the games from reporters. …

“It’s very similar in the political world. You’re not going to make everybody happy. You’re going to make mistakes. You’re gonna be on the wrong side of different issues.”

Baseball brought Teixeira fame and wealth. In 14 Major League seasons, he earned $213 million. Baseball also brought him connections. In New York, he received an invitation to Romeny’s election night gala in Boston.

The evening ignited what Teixeira calls “a slow burn” for politics. The slow burn became a flame in 2015. While still playing for the Yankees, he hosted two fundraising events for Marco Rubio’s presidential campaign. When Rubio lost the Republican primary, Teixeira supported Rubio’s rival, Trump.

Almost a decade passed. In September 2025, shortly after announcing his run for Congress, Teixeira went to Washington, D.C. to ask for Trump’s support.

“It’s a funny story,” Teixeira said. “His political team is like, ‘So you supported Rubio, huh?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And they just started laughing. [They said] ‘We love Marco. That’s no problem at all.’”

Teixeira returned home. More Republican candidates jumped into the race. The field became crowded. The White House remained silent. 

On Feb. 5, about five months after visiting with the president’s staff, Teixeira received Trump’s endorsement. The endorsement drew the ire of baseball fans on the left. It also prompted one candidate to drop out of the race.

Former Bexar County Republican vice chair Kyle Sinclair ended his candidacy and quickly backed Teixeira. Sinclair, a hospital executive and veteran, now advises the former baseball star.

“I send him healthcare policy updates regularly,” Sinclair said. “We’ve had a number of conversations around access to care, behavioral health, Medicaid, reimbursement, workforce issues and reducing unnecessary regulatory burden.” 

The slow burn for politics that began in 2012 has morphed into fiery ambition. Teixeira studies issues and consults with advisers. He campaigns hard and listens to concerns and grievances. He devises a list of projects and priorities for his first year in Congress. He brainstorms on how to build relationships and bipartisan coalitions around each issue.

“My first priority is to figure out how to get stuff done,” he said. “If we’re in the minority, it’s gonna be a lot harder, if not impossible.” 

Political winds appear to be shifting. While Republicans hold a thin majority in the U.S. House, the New York Times Congressional Poll Tracker shows Democrats likely to regain control of the lower chamber.

Entering the House as a freshman in the minority would be daunting. Then again, if it weren’t for baseball, Teixeira wouldn’t be in his current position, heavily favored to win his race on Nov. 3.

“That’s very fair,” he said. “Who knows exactly what I would have done for a living if I wouldn’t have played Major League baseball. But doors have opened in my life. … 

“I do love people. I do love communicating about visions for the future. That stuff is kind of innate. It’s part of my DNA. This was just a really interesting way to get there.”