Miguel Tejada News

"Since it opened in 1923, Yankee Stadium has played host to 37 World Series and four All-Star Games — 1939, 1960, 1977 and 2008. With the Yankees set to move next door to a $1 billion, state-of-the-art facility next season, Yankee Stadium will hold its final Midsummer Classic on Tuesday. The Astros' Lance Berkman will start at first base and Miguel Tejada will be the backup at short for the National League. Together, they will join some of the greatest names in baseball history on the list of players who have participated in an All-Star Game in the park that has become a baseball shrine but soon will be no more."

"To Ed Wade's list of mistakes, add the name of Miguel Tejada. Put another $26 million on the general manager's tab. Six weeks ago, Tejada looked like Wade's best acquisition. He was productive and energetic on the field and a delight in the clubhouse. Lance Berkman was among several players effusive in his praise of his new teammate. Snapshot evaluations during a marathon of a season can be wildly inaccurate. Tejada is hitting .220 in the last 40 games and has declined defensively as well. Maybe this is nothing more than an extended slump."

"Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada has slid into first base on several occasions this season, prompting manager Cecil Cooper to remind the four-time All-Star it could be dangerous. "We've talked about it," Cooper said. "You don't get there faster, but sometimes guys do stuff instinctively without thinking about it. The only time you want to slide into first base is if the guy is going to make a tag." Tejada said he knows the dangers, but can't help it. "That's the way I play," he said. "I like to play hard, and I think sometimes if I slide I have a chance at a hit. Sometimes I think if the play is too close, I slide on instincts.""

"The move gave finality to a relationship that had been strained. Twice at the end of the 2005 season, Tejada demanded a trade after becoming frustrated with the club's inability to keep pace in the AL East. In January 2006, Tejada backed off his aggressive stance but said he was surprised when he learned of his move. "I never gave up," he said of his time in Baltimore. "I always play this game hard, because that's the only thing I know how to do. "They had to have a team to compete with [the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees] to be a champion. It's not only about me. Are the Orioles in first place now?""

"The Orioles billed the December trade of shortstop Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros for five players as the first move in the organization's rebuilding project.But to All-Star second baseman Brian Roberts, the process started four years earlier when Tejada, a coveted free agent and former American League Most Valuable Player, signed a six-year, $72 million deal with the Orioles, giving a struggling franchise a star player to build around."

"Miguel Tejada had established himself as a superstar before he arrived in Baltimore, winning the American League Most Valuable Player award in 2002 as a member of the Oakland A's. But it wasn't until Tejada arrived on the East Coast upon signing with the Orioles before the 2004 season that he believes he became one of the elite players in baseball. Tejada spent four seasons in Baltimore and slugged 102 home runs and drove in 429 runs, including a club-record 150 RBIs in 2004 in his first season at Camden Yards. "When I came to Baltimore, that's when people started really seeing me," he said."

"As Drayton McLane visited with some area high school students this week, he asked the group a trick question before giving the students a motivational speech. McLane told the teenagers about a recent poll the Astros had taken from a focus group. Guess, he asked, which Astro the fans in that intimate focus group were most drawn to right now. One would assume slugger Lance Berkman, who could challenge to win the National League Triple Crown. "Nope," McLane said with a smile. "Miguel Tejada." The news was a bit of a shock, but it shouldn't have been. As Andy Pettitte has learned since he admitted to the use of human growth hormone, America can be quite a forgiving place."

"If you judged Miguel Tejada by nothing more than the numbers, he'd be merely outstanding. He's hitting .342 and leading all major league shortstops in RBIs and hits. His defense has been solid. If he brought nothing else to the table, the Astros would be thrilled. But when you ask Tejada's teammates and his manager about him, they first discuss qualities that are impossible to measure. For instance, leadership and energy. And the joy he brings to the ballpark every single night."

"Before ripping his RBI triple in the ninth inning Friday night, Miguel Tejada had enough faith in Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee to focus on the team's well-being instead of his own glory. The Astros trailed 2-0 at the time, but Tejada had the patience and confidence to take two consecutive pitches after working the count to 3-0 against the Cardinals' Jason Isringhausen."

"Perhaps ESPN got what it wanted out of its ambush of Miguel Tejada. What's a little criticism when there is publicity to be gained?"

"Shortstop Miguel Tejada, who hit fifth in the first 17 games, was moved up two spots in the order to third, with Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee bumped down a slot to fourth and fifth, respectively."

"It also will be another example used by Tejada bashers on why he shouldn't be remembered fondly around here. That's understandable, but it's a shame because Tejada was one of the most talented and gracious players to wear an Orioles uniform in the past 20 years."

"Miguel Tejada's life has been chronicled closely for more than a decade in the United States and his native Dominican Republic, where he has long been referred to as the "nation's ballplayer." Yet, Thursday morning was the first time the former American League Most Valuable Player and four-time All-Star admitted his real age. The Astros' new shortstop is actually 33, two years older than he is listed in the club's media guide and other baseball records."

"Saying he wanted to unburden himself, Miguel Tejada approached general manager Ed Wade and asked to correct misinformation he gave the Oakland A’s when he signed in 1993. The Astros’ new shortstop is actually 33, two years older than he’s listed in the club’s media guide and other baseball records. Tejada was actually 19 when he signed as a kid out of poverty-stricken Bani, Dominican Republic. At the time, he says, a local coach encouraged him to say he was 17. "I'm a poor kid that wanted to sign," he said. "I’m feeling free now,” he said. “It’s something that I had in my mind.”"

"The constant in-game chatter has returned. So have the incessant clapping, the expansive smile and the bat that shoots lasers to every part of a baseball diamond. He's in a Houston Astros uniform now, but Miguel Tejada is looking like the old Miggi, the one who excited Camden Yards crowds when he first came to Baltimore."

"Major League Baseball and the players' union agreed Friday to modify baseball's drug agreement while also giving amnesty to Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada, Andy Pettitte of the New York Yankees and other players who were mentioned in the Mitchell Report."

"It's unclear how long Tejada's legal woes will drag on, but he at least officially put the Orioles in his past by donning his Astros uniform and working out with his new teammates Tuesday morning."

"Drayton McLane pulled Miguel Tejada aside Tuesday morning and attempted to spin the story forward."

"Yesterday, former Orioles star Miguel Tejada put on his No. 10 Houston Astros jersey for the first time and ran drills with his new teammates on a gorgeous Central Florida day."

"Miguel Tejada said his attorneys have advised him not to comment on the Mitchell Report or an FBI probe into his alleged link to steroids. "I can't really talk about that situation," Tejada said Tuesday morning upon arriving at Houston Astros training camp. "Right now, I just want to talk about baseball, because that's really my focus.""

"Despite concerns he could have faced trouble entering the United States because of his legal woes, Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada is in the country and is expected to report on time for spring training."

"Former Dominican Republic Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito met with Miguel Tejada on Wednesday to offer support and ask the Astros shortstop if there is anything their government can do for Tejada as he faces an FBI investigation."

"The Chronicle's Jose de Jesus Ortiz sat down with Miguel Tejada in the Dominican Republic and asked the new Astros shortstop questions submitted by fans on Chron.com."

"There are even more stars in the Aguilas' home dugout. But there's no denying that Miguel Tejada, the longtime Aguilas shortstop and new Astro, is the crowd favorite."

"Three years later, the committee was in a similar position last week - this time in connection with Palmeiro's former teammate, Miguel Tejada - of suspecting a lie but appreciating how difficult such cases can be to prove."

"Hours before donning his yellow Aguilas Cibaenas jersey Saturday night, Miguel Tejada hardly seemed like a man in mourning or weighed down by steroid allegations. Despite the recent death of an older brother and the knowledge that the FBI is investigating him, the new Astros shortstop finds solace in the game that lifted him from poverty and put him into the ranks of millionaires."

"So now the Feds are going to go after Miguel Tejada. The suspected crime of the former Oriole? The prosecutor's best friend, the fallback when they can't get you on something else: lying under oath. Maybe they can hire a special prosecutor -- maybe Ken Starr, who got Bill Clinton for fibbing to the Feds, or Patrick Fitzgerald, who got Scooter Libby -- to get Miggy."

"I wrote the book on Miguel Tejada. Literally. In 1999, Simon & Schuster published "Away Games: The Life and Times of a Latin Ballplayer." Tejada was my star...Back then, Tejada's main concern wasn't steroids. It never once came up in thousands of conversations. Tejada's concerns were solely about "feeding his family." Stupid me. A friend and colleague from the New York Times asked me this week if the word "steroids" appeared in my book at all. Nope, I answered. Not once."

"Disappointed baseball couldn’t solve its steroids problem earlier, Drayton McLane and several Astros withheld judgment after the House Oversight Committee asked the Department of Justice to investigate whether shortstop Miguel Tejada lied to federal investigators in 2005."

"A House committee asked the Justice Department yesterday to investigate whether former Orioles star Miguel Tejada lied in 2005 when he denied ever using steroids - a statement the panel says conflicts with information in the recently released Mitchell Report."

"The House committee holding hearings into baseball and steroids promised an early news nugget, and it delivered: The committee formally asked the Department of Justice to investigate the star shortstop Miguel Tejada on the suspicion that he made false statements to the committee nearly three years ago."

"Two high-ranking members of Congress recommended yesterday that the Department of Justice investigate whether former Baltimore Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada lied to a House committee in 2005 about using steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs."

"Miguel Tejada apparently had some experience with lying and cheating, so he probably figured one more fib wouldn't hurt. One more and he'd stop."

"While Bud Selig and Donald Fehr were once again the guys at the congressional witness table Tuesday, the day's biggest losers were Miguel Tejada, San Francisco Giants owner Peter Magowan and Giants general manager Brian Sabean. Oh, you probably didn't want to be Ed Wade either."

"Astros owner Drayton McLane and some of his players withheld judgment Tuesday after the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee asked the Department of Justice to investigate if shortstop Miguel Tejada lied to federal investigators in 2005 when he told them he knew nothing of steroid use in baseball."

"Already the target of an investigation by the Department of Justice to determine if he lied to Congress in a 2005 interview, Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada suffered a deeper, more personal blow Tuesday after his brother died in a motorcycle accident in Tejada's native Dominican Republic."

"A House committee plans to revisit statements made by former Orioles All-Star Miguel Tejada in 2005 to see whether the shortstop's story is consistent with information contained in the Mitchell Report, according to two sources with knowledge of the inquiry."

"New Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada, through his agent, has asked and received permission to play in the Dominican Republic Winter League's Aguilas Cibaeñas."

"The Astros found that reeling in a four-time All-Star shortstop and former Most Valuable Player wasn't quite like finding a needle in a haystack. Astros general manager Ed Wade traded five players for Tejada, who just happens to be handy with a needle."

"Astros owner Drayton McLane admitted Friday he was disappointed when he learned newly acquired shortstop Miguel Tejada's name appeared in the Mitchell Report, but he stood by the club's decision to deal for the four-time All-Star."

"Barely 24 hours after the Astros announced they had acquired shortstop Miguel Tejada from the Baltimore Orioles in a six-player deal, the club learned Thursday the four-time All-Star was one of more than 80 players named in the long-awaited Mitchell Report."

"Yesterday's Mitchell Report thrust the Orioles back into the steroid scandal spotlight, with two of their All-Stars - second baseman Brian Roberts and just-traded shortstop Miguel Tejada - linked to the use of performance-enhancing drugs."

"A day after the Baltimore Orioles traded shortstop Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros, he was among the current and former Orioles linked to performance-enhancing drugs by former Senate majority leader George J. Mitchell's report on steroid use in baseball. Second baseman Brian Roberts, a former all-star, was also among those named in Mitchell's report."

"The Astros have acquired slugger Miguel Tejada from the Baltimore Orioles for a package that includes outfielder Luke Scott, Matt Albers, Troy Patton, third base prospect Mike Costanzo and perhaps another player, a person with knowledge of the talks has confirmed to the Chronicle. Tejada, a shortstop who might move to third, has two years and $32 million left on his deal."

"So much for Plan A. Next target on Reagins' wish list is believed to be Baltimore Orioles infielder Miguel Tejada, whom the Angels have pursued in the past."

"But Andy MacPhail, Orioles president of baseball operations, arrived in Nashville, Tenn., yesterday, carrying with him two quality trade chips -- Tejada and ace left-hander Erik Bedard -- and a desire to fix the team's flawed and underachieving roster."

"Three days away from formally extending or rejecting arbitration to former World Series MVP David Eckstein, the Cardinals continue to explore alternatives that include the Baltimore Orioles' Miguel Tejada, the Pittsburgh Pirates' Jack Wilson and free agent Cesar Izturis."

"Putting Cabrera on the market has put the Orioles' plan to deal Miguel Tejada on ice because the big-market teams with the wherewithal to acquire Tejada are going to make their best play for Cabrera first... Though Hunter fits that description, the Angels still are believed to be pursuing Miguel Cabrera and, failing that, might fall back to Tejada"

"It was particularly refreshing to hear his reaction to the rumors about Tejada and the rival New York Yankees. The typical GM response would be to deny anything is going on and deliver the usual disclaimer about the rarity of significant trades between division rivals. MacPhail didn't confirm any serious trade talks with the Yankees, but he made it clear that he would not foreclose the option simply because they are one of the teams the Orioles are trying to catch in the American League East."

"The Yankees might not be able to lure Mike Lowell from Boston and appear unwilling to pay the price to acquire Miguel Cabrera from Florida, but another name has emerged that could prove to be the most sensible option: Miguel Tejada... t. Louis' Scott Rolen remains a possibility, though the health of his shoulder as well as the three years and $36 million remaining on his contract make him a risky proposition."