Teixas Ranger

Mark Teixeira is genuinely a nice guy. He'd be a nice guy if he was a millionaire (which he is) or a plumber or a teacher or a bum/sports writer, etc.. He cares about people and he cares about the community. I guess it's should be no surprise that he really cares about being the best first baseman he can be. I would not go as far as to say that genuinely nice people in baseball are rare, but sometimes you have to wonder. Some people think a nice person/player is somebody who talks to the media. Some people think a bad person/player is someone who does not talk to the media. Here's the kicker, things are not always as they seem. Players work the media, the same way the media hustles players. The result: you do not always get an accurate feeling of who the player/person/reporter really is. All that said, Teixeira is among the best and I have four years of experience covering him to back that up. He and his wife Leigh just started a foundation and plan on helping high school kids go to college. He already visits children's hospitals, works with kids leagues and is a big part of the Texas Rangers Foundation. Maybe helping people, especially kids, does not necessarily mean you are a good person, but in my book it almost always does.  Teixeira is a good dude. I jokingly call him Captain America -- to others. I won't be surprised if/when he wins an MVP Award he becomes one of the primary faces of baseball. Yes, he's that good -- on and off the field.