For The Associated Press
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -Mark Teixeira was so stoked about his first trip to the postseason, he sought out advice from some of his October-tested teammates on the Los Angeles Angels.
Wondering how to best channel his emotions in the right direction, he asked center fielder Torii Hunter.
“The first thing Torii said was that you don’t need to drink coffee in the morning on the day of a playoff game,” Teixeira said with a grin.
After putting up outstanding offensive numbers over the previous five seasons but having no place to display his talents in the playoffs, Teixeira is finally getting his chance.
He was set to start at first Wednesday night when the Angels opened their first-round AL matchup against the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox.
Quite a change from past stops with the Texas Rangers and Atlanta Braves.
g to be there,” Teixeira said.
It took Teixeira 904 games to get to this point, along with a trade on July 29 that moved him from the Braves to the Angels for first baseman Casey Kotchman and minor league pitcher Steve Marek.
Playing in a combined 157 games with the Angels and Braves, Teixeira had 33 homers and 121 RBIs along with a career-best .308 average – two points higher than he did last season in 132 games with the Braves and Rangers.
His 97 walks also were a career high, and it was the fifth straight season in which the 28-year-old switch-hitter had at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs.
“Mark Teixeira brings a presence as one of the top hitters in the game,” Red Sox first baseman Sean Casey said. “He’s dangerous. He can change a game with one swing of the bat. I think his presence made that lineup even more potent.”
With their two-time Gold Glover at first base, the Angels led the majors with a team-record 100 wins and won the AL West by a whopping 21 games over Texas.
Teixeira is hoping to extend that success, which is why he talked to Hunter and others.
Hunter, in his first season with the Angels but a four-time playoff participant with Minnesota, gave Teixeira more than tips what to drink.
“He also said you have to focus that energy. This is not a game that you can go out running around like your head’s cut off and swinging at every pitch. You have to focus your energy, swing at good pitches and still play your game. So Torii’s given me some good advice.”
In 54 games with the Angels, Teixeira hit .358 with 13 home runs, and 43 RBIs and a .449 on-base percentage. His arrival and subsequent insertion into the No. 3 spot in the batting order has had a significant impact on cleanup hitter Vladimir Guerrero.
In 97 games before the trade, Guerrero hit .276 with 17 homers and 54 RBIs. In his 45 games that followed, the 2005 AL MVP batted .362 with 10 homers and 47 RBIs.
“Before, the one guy you really feared was Guerrero. You didn’t want Guerrero to beat you. And now you’ve got Tex in there, so it’s pick your poison – because one of them is going to beat you,” Casey said. “It probably gives Vlad a different mentality, too. If gives him the confidence that they don’t want to pitch around him, too.”
Texas picked Teixeira fifth overall pick in the 2001 draft, and he emerged as one of the most consistent hitters in the big leagues.
He was an All-Star in 2005, setting a major league record for switch-hitters with 144 RBIs. But no matter what he did, the Rangers never had enough pitching to complement his hitting.
“It was very frustrating,” Teixeira said. “When you end the season and you have the great stats, it’s done. You move on to a normal life and you wait until spring training next year. But when you finish a season and you go to the playoffs, you could care less what the back of your baseball card said.”
Teixeira, who made $12.5 million this season, was one of the marquee names that surfaced as this year’s non-waiver trade deadline approached. The Angels were eager to add another big bat after early playoff exits the past four years, and made the deal even though they realized he could he headed for free agency.
“Just his name alone means something,” Boston pitcher Paul Byrd said of Teixeira. “He brings a lot of power to that lineup. I think he was kind of the last piece to the puzzle to really put that lineup over the top.”
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