Obri
12-19-2003, 08:18 PM
Since i'm posting the O's latest.:D Tejada is paraded.....
Orioles welcome Tejada
Shortstop introduced to media Thursday
By Gary Washburn / MLB.com
http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/images/2003/12/18/p3bdf6FA.jpg
Miguel Tejada and his son, Miquel, shared the spotlight Thursday. (Gail Burton/AP)
Tejada, the first centerpiece to the Orioles' resurgence, was as grateful as a $72 million player can be. He said he's ready to bring a brand of baseball to Baltimore that has been missing for six years. Tejada serves as the Orioles' first legitimate superstar since Cal Ripken's retirement in 2001.
And he is also the first star the Orioles have signed in his prime since Rafael Palmeiro in 1994.
"When you shell out that kind of money for a player, he'd better be a special player and Miguel is special," executive vice president Jim Beattie said. "We talked to his old managers, teammates, and there was not one bad thing said about him. Not one thing. He was not a hard guy to want, he is exactly what this organization is looking for."
Tejada, 27, is already a hit with the club. On Wednesday night, after taking his physical at the B&O Warehouse, Tejada heard music and socializing. It was the Orioles' employees Christmas party. Tejada said he wanted to meet some of his new "co-workers" and he proceeded to fraternize with employees and make a speech.
Baltimore, he said Thursday, was the place where he always wanted to be. When A's co-owner Steve Schott said last Spring Training that Tejada was too expensive to re-sign, the shortstop from Bani, Dominican Republic began looking at possible destinations for 2004. Baltimore was on the top of that list.
"The negotiations were not difficult because we wanted the same thing," Diego Benz, one of Tejada's representatives, said. "He wanted to be here. And they wanted him, so we were working toward a common goal. This is where he wanted to be all along."
Said Tejada: "I talk to guys who played here and they said Baltimore was a good place. It's a great city and I will play 100 percent and do my best. I want to bring a winning team to Baltimore."
Then comes the irony. Tejada has been best friends with fellow Dominican Tony Batista since the two played together in the A's farm system in the mid-1990s. Batista, the Orioles' third baseman who was not offered arbitration and will not return next season, sold Tejada on Baltimore. The two have been talking about Tejada coming to the Charm City for years.
Irony No. 2. Tejada will wear No. 10, Batista's old number.
"I talked to Tony and he said it was OK," said Tejada, who couldn't wear No. 4 because of Earl Weaver. "It is my lucky number. I feel lucky right now."
Tejada was grossly underpaid compared with his shortstop contemporaries. He made $5.1 million in 2003, compared with $10.5 million for Boston's Nomar Garciaparra, $22 million for Texas' Alex Rodriguez and $15.6 million for the Yankees' Derek Jeter.
But that did not stop Tejada from building his dream home in Santo Domingo, a few miles from his impoverished beginnings in Bani. When Benz and partner Fernando Cuza called Tejada to inform him of the mega deal, he was celebrating the birthday of his two children, who were both born on Dec. 17.
It has been a swift ride to success for Tejada, who debuted in 1997 as one of the A's fast-tracked prospects, perhaps too young for the Majors but the best the talent-challenged organization had to offer. With a vigorous work ethic and the guidance of Oakland infield coach Ron Washington, who was sometimes relentless in his training, Tejada emerged as one of the Majors' top shortstops.
"I don't want to even think about how far I've come," he said. "If I do, I would probably just shake my head in disbelief. I can't believe things worked out for me."
Now, he will attempt to lead a declining franchise back to prosperity. He will face Jeter and Garciaparra 19 times per season, on a bigger stage than smaller-market Oakland could offer. The pressure is on.
"Everybody said in Oakland we were a losing team and we worked hard and we were winners," he said. "I want to do the same here. The people of Baltimore deserve a winning team. And hopefully I can help."
Tejada said he talked with free agent Vladimir Guerrero, who is also represented by Benz and Cuza. The duo refused comment on negotiations with the Orioles, but there does not appear to be another serious suitor for Guerrero.
Meanwhile, Beattie would not set a timetable for signing either Ivan Rodriguez or Javy Lopez but added that he would be willing to negotiate into the holidays to sign either of the two.
"But don't tell my wife that," he said.
The Orioles expect DH B.J. Surhoff to accept arbitration on Friday, thus ensuring he would return to Baltimore next year. Meanwhile, Beattie said the club has made decisions on players to non-tender contracts. Pitchers Jason Johnson and Damian Moss are expected to be on that list.
Gary Washburn is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Orioles welcome Tejada
Shortstop introduced to media Thursday
By Gary Washburn / MLB.com
http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/images/2003/12/18/p3bdf6FA.jpg
Miguel Tejada and his son, Miquel, shared the spotlight Thursday. (Gail Burton/AP)
Tejada, the first centerpiece to the Orioles' resurgence, was as grateful as a $72 million player can be. He said he's ready to bring a brand of baseball to Baltimore that has been missing for six years. Tejada serves as the Orioles' first legitimate superstar since Cal Ripken's retirement in 2001.
And he is also the first star the Orioles have signed in his prime since Rafael Palmeiro in 1994.
"When you shell out that kind of money for a player, he'd better be a special player and Miguel is special," executive vice president Jim Beattie said. "We talked to his old managers, teammates, and there was not one bad thing said about him. Not one thing. He was not a hard guy to want, he is exactly what this organization is looking for."
Tejada, 27, is already a hit with the club. On Wednesday night, after taking his physical at the B&O Warehouse, Tejada heard music and socializing. It was the Orioles' employees Christmas party. Tejada said he wanted to meet some of his new "co-workers" and he proceeded to fraternize with employees and make a speech.
Baltimore, he said Thursday, was the place where he always wanted to be. When A's co-owner Steve Schott said last Spring Training that Tejada was too expensive to re-sign, the shortstop from Bani, Dominican Republic began looking at possible destinations for 2004. Baltimore was on the top of that list.
"The negotiations were not difficult because we wanted the same thing," Diego Benz, one of Tejada's representatives, said. "He wanted to be here. And they wanted him, so we were working toward a common goal. This is where he wanted to be all along."
Said Tejada: "I talk to guys who played here and they said Baltimore was a good place. It's a great city and I will play 100 percent and do my best. I want to bring a winning team to Baltimore."
Then comes the irony. Tejada has been best friends with fellow Dominican Tony Batista since the two played together in the A's farm system in the mid-1990s. Batista, the Orioles' third baseman who was not offered arbitration and will not return next season, sold Tejada on Baltimore. The two have been talking about Tejada coming to the Charm City for years.
Irony No. 2. Tejada will wear No. 10, Batista's old number.
"I talked to Tony and he said it was OK," said Tejada, who couldn't wear No. 4 because of Earl Weaver. "It is my lucky number. I feel lucky right now."
Tejada was grossly underpaid compared with his shortstop contemporaries. He made $5.1 million in 2003, compared with $10.5 million for Boston's Nomar Garciaparra, $22 million for Texas' Alex Rodriguez and $15.6 million for the Yankees' Derek Jeter.
But that did not stop Tejada from building his dream home in Santo Domingo, a few miles from his impoverished beginnings in Bani. When Benz and partner Fernando Cuza called Tejada to inform him of the mega deal, he was celebrating the birthday of his two children, who were both born on Dec. 17.
It has been a swift ride to success for Tejada, who debuted in 1997 as one of the A's fast-tracked prospects, perhaps too young for the Majors but the best the talent-challenged organization had to offer. With a vigorous work ethic and the guidance of Oakland infield coach Ron Washington, who was sometimes relentless in his training, Tejada emerged as one of the Majors' top shortstops.
"I don't want to even think about how far I've come," he said. "If I do, I would probably just shake my head in disbelief. I can't believe things worked out for me."
Now, he will attempt to lead a declining franchise back to prosperity. He will face Jeter and Garciaparra 19 times per season, on a bigger stage than smaller-market Oakland could offer. The pressure is on.
"Everybody said in Oakland we were a losing team and we worked hard and we were winners," he said. "I want to do the same here. The people of Baltimore deserve a winning team. And hopefully I can help."
Tejada said he talked with free agent Vladimir Guerrero, who is also represented by Benz and Cuza. The duo refused comment on negotiations with the Orioles, but there does not appear to be another serious suitor for Guerrero.
Meanwhile, Beattie would not set a timetable for signing either Ivan Rodriguez or Javy Lopez but added that he would be willing to negotiate into the holidays to sign either of the two.
"But don't tell my wife that," he said.
The Orioles expect DH B.J. Surhoff to accept arbitration on Friday, thus ensuring he would return to Baltimore next year. Meanwhile, Beattie said the club has made decisions on players to non-tender contracts. Pitchers Jason Johnson and Damian Moss are expected to be on that list.
Gary Washburn is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.