BRIDGEPORT—With the notable exception of Don Mattingly, Mark Teixeira has been the most productive New York Yankees first baseman since the legendary Lou Gehrig. As a fielder, he may have no peers.
Teixeira will bring his star power to Sacred Heart University’s Edgerton Center for the Arts on Tuesday, Feburary 10 for a benefit, “An Evening With Mark Teixeira.” All proceeds will support the after-school programs at the Cardinal Shehan Center and the McGivney Community Center.
“We’ve been working with (Fairfield County clothier) Bill Mitchell to make this happen, and we’ve finally been successful,” said Terry O’Connor, executive director of both the Cardinal Shehan Center and the McGivney Center. “The funds we raise,” he continued, “will help with our after-school programs at both places. Buy supplies. Homework help. Arts and crafts. The pool at the Shehan Center. Part-time employees and so much more.”
Attendees will have the opportunity to meet Teixeira at a private reception, from 5:30pm – 6:45pm, and then listen to the Yankee star at a lecture, beginning at 7 pm. The fee for both the reception and lecture is $150; this includes an autographed baseball signed by Teixeira. The cost for the lecture only is $75 for adults and $35 for children 12 and under.
The switch-hitting Teixeira will enter his seventh season with the Yankees and 13th overall with 363 career home runs, 1,175 runs batted in and a .273 average. At his peak, he put together eight straight seasons of 30-plus home runs and 100-plus RBIs. In 2009, his first year in New York, Teixeira topped the American League with 39 homers and 122 RBIs while leading the Yankees to the pennant and world championship. He was the runner-up to the Minnesota Twins’ Joe Mauer for Most Valuable Player.
However, a succession of injuries put a damper on Teixeira’s 2014 season (22 homers, 62 RBIs, .216) and a broken right wrist limited him to just 15 games the previous year. Teixeira resides in Greenwich with his wife, Leigh, and their three children. For ticket information, call the Cardinal Shehan Center at (203) 336-4468 or the McGivney Community Center at (203) 333-2789.
