Mark Teixeira wins U.S. House seat, a decade after his last Yankees season

Mark Teixeira, the first baseman on the Yankees’ 2009 championship team, has won election to the U.S. House in Texas’ 21st Congressional District. The Republican defeated Democrat Kristin Hook in Tuesday’s election, ESPN News Services reported early Wednesday, using information from The Associated Press.

The Texas Secretary of State’s results page, displaying a November 4 update time of 8:48 a.m., listed 194,302 votes for Teixeira and 162,088 for Hook, with 100 percent of the district’s polling locations reporting. That is a reported margin of 32,214 votes. The figures are election returns, not a notice of certification.

Teixeira ran for the seat held by Republican Chip Roy, who did not seek reelection. Hook is a former federal scientist. For Teixeira, the result creates a new public role ten years after his final major-league season. He is the district’s incoming representative; Roy remains the incumbent in the current Congress.

The Yankees years behind the name

New York’s connection is substantial. Teixeira played his final eight seasons with the Yankees, beginning in 2009. That first year, he hit .292 with 39 home runs, 122 RBI and a .948 OPS in 156 regular-season games. His production gave the championship lineup a switch-hitting power source at first base, where he also won a Gold Glove that season. His 206 home runs as a Yankee account for just over half of his career total.

His route to New York began in Texas. The Rangers selected him fifth overall in the 2001 draft, and he made his major-league debut in 2003. Stops with Atlanta and the Angels preceded the Yankees years. Across 14 seasons, he collected 1,862 hits, 409 home runs and 1,298 RBI, with three All-Star selections, five Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers.