Let’s jump into the everyday fans knowledge of Mark Teixeira. He is probably the best defensive 1st baseman in the MLB. He makes plays that should be on Web Gems or Top 10 everyday. He puts some muscle on the ball a lot. He gets normal 1st basemen RBI’s, home runs, and runs. But have you every seen the team in a good position and during the commercial break you find yourself saying ” Come on Tex, hit it in the hole for once” instead of the opposite? Ya i find it myself a lot. Now lets get to the numbers. In 2011 Mark’s line was .248/39/111 in 589 AB. He had an OBP of .341, a SLG of .494, and a OPS of .835. Now if you look deeper into his line you also see that he had 110 SO. The line isn’t terrible. I’ll take 39 home runs and 111 RBI’s any day. But a .248 in Yankee stadium as a switch hitter? Come on, if Tex can learn how to go the other way and I think he can develop back into the top tier hitter he was and do what we brought him in to do. The 110 strikeouts is way too high. he should be looking to double that ball off the right center fence instead of just trying to hit that jet stream in right. he will hit the mistakes by pitchers like a high fastball or a hanging breaking ball and take it to the moon. if Teixeira learns how to hit like that I think his line next year could be at .275/34/115. The average will raise from him hitting the other way and using that wall a little more. The home runs will dip slightly because he will be more of a doubles hitter and not swinging for the fences. The RBI’s I think will stay the same because he and Robinson Cano are swapping places. I think hitting in the 5 hole behind and aging Alex Rodriguez will give him a lot more RBI opportunities. In his age 32 season I don’t see his defense falling off at all. He will still remain a lock in the heart of our lineup. If working with Kevin Long is something that is In Tex’s schedule then I think he can return to his former hitting glory. And hopefully him and some other key factors can lead us to Number 28!