New York Yankees' Mark Teixeira to retire at end of 2016 season
Friday 5 August 2016 21:45, UK
New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira will retire at the end of the 2016 season.
Teixeira, who recently passed the 400 home run landmark, is in the final year of a $180m eight-year deal with the Yankees.
The 36-year-old has been bothered by a series of injuries this year and is batting a lowly .198 with 10 runs in the 77 games he has managed.
So far in his career Teixeira, who was drafted by the Texas Rangers, has hit 404 home runs and driven in 1,281 runs.
"Every kid playing whiffle ball in the backyard or playing Little League, you dream of being a Major League Baseball player," Teixeira told a press conference before Friday's game against the Cleveland Indians.
"After 14 years it's time for me to do something else.
"I got to live out my dream and had more success than I could ever imagined, but it felt like it was the right time to step away from the game.
"This year my neck started bothering me, I hurt my knee and I just kind of realised my body can't do it anymore."
