Mark Teixeira, a three-time Major League Baseball all-star and a member of the 2009 New York Yankees World Series championship team, has announced a run for Congress.
Teixeira is attempting to win a seat in the House of Representatives representing Texas. Teixeira is running as a Republican for the 21st District seat currently held by Rep. Chip Roy. Roy is not running for reelection; instead, he is seeking to become Texas' attorney general.
"As a lifelong conservative who loves this country, I'm running for Congress to fight for the principles that make Texas and America great," Teixeira posted on the social media site X. "It takes teamwork to win -- I'm ready to help defend President Trump's America First agenda, Texas families, and individual liberty."
In a letter posted to X, Teixeira pledged to work with Trump to "secure the border, grow the economy, end radical woke indoctrination, promote American energy independence, defend life and the Second Amendment, end forever wars, and strengthen the military."
Teixeira is a native of Maryland, according to Baseball Reference, but began his Major League Baseball career in Texas with the Rangers. He played there for more than four years before being traded to the Atlanta Braves. After a half-season with the Los Angeles Angels, Teixeira signed with the Yankees as a free agent before the 2009 season.
In his first year with the Yankees, Teixeira hit 39 home runs, drove in 122 runs and had 344 total bases, leading the American League in all three categories, according to Baseball Reference. He also won a Gold Glove that season and finished second in the Most Valuable Player voting to Joe Mauer.
Teixeira played eight seasons with the Yankees, retiring after the 2016 season.
Teixeira will likely face a primary; at least one other candidate has filed paperwork to run, according to the Associated Press.