All-Star Game Tonight

[Guest Brian]

He definately seemsl ike the type of guy who would genuinely be surprised by that type of give-away for an all-star MVP.

[Styles 0]

Tejada's enthusiasm catching in Orioles clubhouse

By Christine Brennan, USA TODAY

BALTIMORE — Miguel Tejada is cheering in the Baltimore Orioles dugout. The noise is incessant, the lilting background music that has accompanied every Orioles game since Tejada arrived from Oakland for the start of the 2004 season.

 

"Don't let him make you out with a bad pitch!" he yells to a teammate. "Don't let him make you out with a bad pitch!"

 

A few batters later, the chatter has ceased. A surprisingly glum Tejada is walking dejectedly to the dugout after a trip to the batter's box. He steps back down toward the Orioles bench. All eyes are on him. Chagrined, Tejada knows what he must say: "He make me out with a bad pitch."

 

It is difficult for anyone watching Tejada's act to suppress a smile. Even fooled at the plate, Tejada has that kind of effect on the Orioles, currently two games out of first place in the American League East after winning three of four games against first-place Boston.

 

There are some who will tell you that starting AL All-Star shortstop Miguel Tejada, hitting .419 in his last 11 games, is the most complete player in baseball. There are others who will tell you he is the most inspiring rags-to-riches story in the game. But there are 25 men wearing the orange and black of the Orioles who will tell you Tejada is something else: the best teammate a guy will ever have.

 

"He comes to this ballpark like a Little League player who wakes up Saturday morning and just wants to play baseball," says his manager, Lee Mazzilli.

 

"The heart and soul of this team," Rafael Palmeiro says.

 

"A throwback," veteran Orioles coach Elrod Hendricks calls him.

 

There is a good reason Tejada, 29, plays baseball like a child on a sandlot on a long summer day. The reason is not a secret, although it is a story Major League Baseball would be happy to trumpet.

 

It is the story of a boy from the hurricane-ravaged Dominican Republic who was so poor he says he never had his own baseball glove until he was 19. That was in 1995, when his first U.S. minor league team handed him one. Seven years later, Tejada became the American League's Most Valuable Player. "We didn't have the money, and it was really expensive to have a glove," Tejada said during a recent interview in the Orioles clubhouse at Camden Yards. "I guess you could say I have come a long way."

 

Tejada was 3 when Hurricane David tore through his poor neighborhood in the Dominican city of Bani in 1979, leaving Miguel and his family of 10 with nothing. They lived in a school that had been turned into a shelter, Tejada said, then moved to a crumbling barrio on a crowded city street.

 

"We didn't have nowhere to live," he said. "My father just worked for food. He worked for construction, as a carpenter. He worked hard, really hard to help us to grow up."

 

Tejada shined shoes at age 5. At 11, he quit school to work in a garment factory. Two years later, his mother died in her sleep on Christmas Day, at 49. The family was too poor to get medical help and still is uncertain about the cause of death.

 

Baseball provided his sole outlet for happiness. Tejada and the children on his street used milk cartons for mitts, rolled-up wet rags for a ball and tree branches as bats. The first time Tejada held a real baseball in his hand, the first time he felt its seams, saw how white it was, tossed it to the first baseman, he was 12 or 13 years old. "In Little League," he said, "they had some baseballs there."

 

The same went for a bat — and gloves were scarce, but when there were a few, they belonged to the team.

 

"When I was a little kid, I don't have anything," he said. "Now I got a paycheck, I got a brand new uniform, I got new shoes. Before, I don't have that. That's one of the reasons that I play so hard. I know what I came from. I came from nothing. I had nothing. "So I tell myself every day, 'Oh God, thank for you this opportunity.' I say thank you to myself for doing what I do, to make other people proud, my family, all the people from my country, my teammates. Baseball is everything to me, every day. I love this game; I enjoy every moment."

 

"He has a different attitude," says fellow Dominican native Sammy Sosa, who became Tejada's teammate this season after calling Tejada in the offseason to ask for a scouting report on the Orioles. "We're just humble people. When we have the opportunity to come to the United States and make it, whether we're at the top or at the bottom, we usually know how to deal with it. I admire Miguel because he is that kind of guy."

 

Miguel Tejada's athleticism in the field is sometimes overshadowed by his superior offensive skills.

 

This explains why a man who possesses a 6-year, $72 million contract plays as energetically as a rookie in his first big-league game.

 

"With a lot of guys, once they become successful, they have a tendency to forget," Hendricks says. "With him, he appreciates it."

 

Enthusiasm to spare

 

Tejada had been an Oriole for a few weeks in spring training 2004 when, after playing the customary few innings of an exhibition game in Florida, he was taken out.

 

Most starters shower and leave the ballpark. Not Tejada. Inning after inning, he sat on the top step of the dugout with his back to the field, chatting with his teammates and occasionally turning around to yell encouragement to players he barely knew.

 

One of those teammates ripped a drive down the right-field line.

 

Tejada leaped to his feet. "Go, go, go," he screamed. "Go for two!"

 

Orioles media relations director Bill Stetka couldn't believe his eyes and ears. The team's new high-priced free agent was exhorting some kid to stretch a single into a double in a meaningless spring training game. "I wonder what he will be like if we ever get to the World Series," Stetka says.

 

Appreciation for foes

 

Veteran Orioles radio and TV broadcaster Jim Hunter says he was shocked to see Tejada headed to the Orioles employees' holiday party the day he came in to sign his contract in December 2003. Tejada was supposed to take a physical, make the deal official, do a radio interview and leave.

 

But when he found out the office Christmas party was going on nearby, he ducked into the room and wouldn't leave until he shook everyone's hand. "We're learning all these little things by watching him," Hunter says. "If he's robbed of a base hit, he'll applaud the defensive effort of his opponent."

 

Tejada made it to the majors because of the renowned Dominican pipeline that brought Juan Marichal, the Alou brothers and his hero, Alfredo Griffin, among others, to the big leagues. The A's signed him when he was 17 for $2,000 after he played in Marichal's baseball school for three years. He was a shortstop, like Griffin, and when he held the money, he dissolved into tears.

 

After a year in the Dominican Summer League and three seasons in the A's farm system, Tejada broke into the majors in 1997 at 21. New York Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi was with the A's then.

 

"He had a thirst for baseball knowledge," Giambi says. "He was always asking questions, wanting to learn. He's like a kid. He just loves every minute of playing baseball, and he doesn't stop working."

 

Looking for attention

 

But this innocence has given way over the years to a veteran's off-the-field savvy. One of the main attractions for coming to Baltimore for the 2004 season, he says, was his hope to make more headlines in an East Coast media market.

 

"More attention, definitely," he says, "The game is more early, it's more fun here, more people come to the game, Baltimore is a really nice city. The people here, they love me. ... In Oakland, they love baseball, but they never come to the game. Here, they always come to the game. When I was in Oakland, most of the time, nobody knows what you do because the games begin so late. Here, there's more TV, there's more attention."

 

Tejada's play of late would attract headlines on the moon. He is among the leaders in virtually every important offensive category in the American League: batting average, home runs, RBI, doubles, slugging percentage. He also has the longest active consecutive-games streak in the majors — 843 games — which seems to be contagious among Baltimore shortstops.

 

"Miguel is one of the best players in the league offensively and defensively," says Cal Ripken, the man who used to be the Orioles' steady shortstop, "and he's one of the best clutch hitters. He's a great stable force in the middle of the infield, he's great in the middle of the lineup and he plays every day. He always has had fun. He takes every at-bat seriously, but it seems like he's enjoying every minute of it."

 

The praise seems to surprise Tejada, even now.

 

"When I hear that, I am like, 'Wow, I can't believe who I am now,' " he said. "I can't believe that I've made it, and I think that's why I'm better and better and better, when I hear people talk about me like that, I keep playing more harder and do more than I am doing. When those people go see me play, I want to make them proud, I want to make what they say right."

 

Life has come full circle for Miguel Tejada. When he started making millions, he built a house in the Dominican — for his father.

 

"He has a big house," Tejada said, his eyes growing wide. "I just try to make him more comfortable. I told my father, decide what kind of house you want."

 

After that house was completed, he had one built for himself and his family: his wife Alesandra, his 5-year-old daughter Alexa and 3-year-old son Miguel.

 

And then he built something else: a baseball stadium for children on the island.

 

They play all day, he says, boys and girls, from 6 a.m. into the night. Thanks to Tejada, they don't use milk cartons, rags and branches anymore.

 

There are very few lucky kids who will make it, Tejada knows, learning baseball that way.

 

Contributing: Mel Antonen

[Styles 0]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/basebal...ports-headlines

 

All-Star Game

 

Biggest star of all

The Orioles' Miguel Tejada just might be the best player in tonight's midsummer classic, many of his fellow players say.

 

 

By Dan Connolly

Sun Staff

 

July 12, 2005

 

When Miguel Tejada takes his rightful spot as the American League's starting shortstop in tonight's 76th All-Star game in Detroit, he'll look to his left and see his buddy and Orioles teammate, Brian Roberts, probably baseball's most surprising new star.

 

To Tejada's right will be New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, the game's highest-paid player and perennial Most Valuable Player candidate.

 

If Tejada is searching for the absolute best player in baseball, however, the argument can be made that he should simply look inward.

 

"It would be Miguel Tejada," said Boston Red Sox All-Star center fielder Johnny Damon when asked who was currently the game's premier player. "I think he has pushed himself to the elite over the past couple of years. He is just getting better, and with the energy he brings, it's really amazing."

 

Damon, a teammate of Tejada's with the Oakland Athletics, isn't shy with his opinions. He gladly rattled off his "Top Five Stars of All-Stars," in order: Tejada, New York Yankees Derek Jeter and Rodriguez, St. Louis Cardinal Albert Pujols and Seattle Mariner Ichiro Suzuki.

 

Of the major league players, coaches and front office personnel also queried, no one else was confident enough to offer a top five. Most shied away from singling out one player over the others.

 

"I don't really think about it like that, everybody is different ... " Jeter, the Yankees' star shortstop, said. "There are so many different angles you can go on."

 

Maybe so, but the same names - basically Damon's top five - were mentioned again and again. [see Tejada, 4d] [Tejada, from Page 1d] And the respondents weren't blindly loyal to their teams.

 

"It is hard to say who is the best," said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. "To me, I think the best player in the world is Ichiro Suzuki; he is phenomenal."

 

Cleveland Indians reliever and former Oriole Arthur Rhodes, who played with Suzuki in Seattle, wasn't ready to say that his former teammate was absolutely, positively the best in the game.

 

"Can I pick two?" Rhodes asked. "One is Ichiro and the other is probably Alex [Rodriguez], because they play hard and can do everything. ... You can put Tejada in there, too."

 

Orioles bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks, who has probably watched as much baseball as anyone still in uniform, said his answer has changed. Last year at this time, he would have said Jeter. Now, it's Tejada.

 

"I have watched him, day in and day out, for a year and a half. And he has really been impressive," Hendricks said. "Not just on the field, but off the field and how much he expects of other players."

 

Based on drive, ability and desire, Hendricks believes there are three players who rise above the rest.

 

"If I wasn't in the game in any capacity and I was going to the ballpark, I would want to go see three players play, not in any order: Jeter, Ichiro and Tejada. I wouldn't pay to see anybody else," Hendricks said. "They play the game the way it should be played. They play right. They don't cheat themselves. They don't cheat their teammates."

 

Orioles reliever Steve Kline said if the entire major leagues were his playground and he had the first pick to select anyone for his team, he'd lean toward St. Louis third baseman Scott Rolen, because he "is really unselfish."

 

But if he were picking the best in the game, Kline would go for a new Orioles teammate over an old Cardinals one.

 

"My top choices would be Miggy and Albert [Pujols]," Kline said.

 

Of the two, Kline gives Tejada the slight edge "just because of his qualities in the locker room. He is more of a leader type. Albert is more quiet. He just wants to come and play ball where Miggy is more of a leader. But Albert is getting better at that."

 

Not all Orioles immediately mention Tejada. Third baseman Melvin Mora believes New York's Rodriguez is No. 1 overall.

 

"I don't care what other people say, he is the best player in baseball," Mora said of Rodriguez. "People might talk bad about him, but he is the best player."

 

Mora, however, wants an asterisk next to his choice. He figures there should be separate categories when talking about baseball's best. For pure numbers, it's Rodriguez. For ability in the clutch, he gives the nod to Jeter. And when it comes to elevating teammates' performances, then Mora points to his left.

 

"I put Tejada in first place as the guy who comes to the clubhouse ... puts the team on his shoulders and carries them," Mora said.

 

Some of the sport's biggest stars were left out of the discussion. New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield said the San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds is the best player he has seen, but knee problems may prevent him from returning to glory. Other top sluggers, such as Boston's Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Angels' Vladimir Guerrero, weren't mentioned - possibly because of perceived defensive or leadership shortcomings.

 

Indeed, the consensus top five has a lot in common. All are strong defensively, excellent offensively, extremely durable and have an unending desire to win.

 

So who is the best? Could it be the Orioles' Tejada? "For my say, I don't know how good I am," Tejada said. "I just really enjoy baseball day by day."

 

When pressed to name the best, he rattled off six of the AL's other eight All-Star starters and then added Jeter and the Texas Rangers' Alfonso Soriano for good measure.

 

He said it's the job of the media to make the No. 1 distinction, not his.

 

But one thing is for sure: He loves that his peers mentioned him in the debate.

 

"That's great," he said, adding it will make him try harder.

 

"I don't want to make those guys look bad in what they say."

[Bruiser Chong 0]

I'm not saying I didn't buy into stuff like his speech. I'm aware he's a genuine good guy. But his double-takes towards the car when they brought it to his attention didn't seem sincere. Just seemed like he was trying to act surprised.

[The Czech Republic 0]

Is it too late to make Rivera the MVP? 

 

Well the AL wins for the 8th straight time (well exclusing the tie of 02)

 

Hulk Hogan Says "AND THAT COUNTS BROTHER!!!!!"  IF YOU SAY OTHERWISE YOU WILL FEEL THE POWER OF HULKAMANIA"

 

SWEET CHIN MUSIC!!

 

 

HBK HAS INVADED TSM TO GET  HIS REVENGE ON THE SMARKS!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What the fuck. I miss Drury.

 

Thanks to Slapnuts, I've cultivated a dread of Baltimore-Washington sports success. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Despite the game counting and all, the ratings fall to new lows...

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/allstar05/ne...tory?id=2107215

 

NEW YORK -- Ratings for baseball's All-Star game hit a new low for the second straight year.

 

The American League's 7-5 victory over the National League in Detroit received an 8.1 rating and 14 share on FOX, Nielsen Media Research said Wednesday, down 8 percent from the 8.8 rating for the AL's 9-4 win last year in Houston.

 

The AL took a 7-0 lead in Tuesday night's game, which was watched by an average of 8,878,000 television households, a decrease from 9,504,000 last year. FOX estimated 29.5 million people tuned in, down from 32.8 rating last year.

 

This year's game, which gave Fox a prime time win, had a high rating of 9.2 from 9:30-10 p.m., then dropped to an 8.4 as the AL went ahead 5-0 and a 7.7 when it took a seven-run lead.

 

While baseball's All-Star rating has declined it easily remains the strongest among the major U.S. sports -- and the only one this year that has been televised by on an over-the-air network.

 

The NBA All-Star game, played in Denver on Feb. 20, got a 4.9 cable rating on TNT and was seen in 5,331,000 households and viewed by 8,082,000 people, according to Nielsen. The NFL's Pro Bowl, which took place at Honolulu in Feb. 13, got a 4.1 cable rating on ESPN and was viewed in 4,539,000 homes and viewed by 6,161,000 people, Nielsen said.

 

There was no NHL All-Star game this year because of the lockout that ended Wednesday, which wiped out the 2004-05 season.

 

St. Louis, where the game drew a 23.3/34, was the highest-rated market for the third straight year, followed by host Detroit, at 22.5/33, up 58 percent from last year's 14.2/21. With four members of the World Series champion Red Sox in the starting lineup, the game drew a 19.5/33 in Boston, an increase of 54 percent from last year's 12.7/23.

 

The famous 1971 All-Star game, when six future Hall of Famers homered at Detroit's Tiger Stadium, got a 27.0 rating and 50 share on NBC, and it was watched by an average of 16.23 million homes. That was in an era when ABC, CBS and NBC dominated the ratings and there was little or no competition from cable television.

 

The rating is the percentage watching a program among the all television households, and each point for over-the-air networks represents 1,096,000 homes. The share is the percentage tuned in among those homes with TVs in use at the time.

[Slayer 0]

...so much for player/viewer incentive

[nl5xsk1 0]

I've said it before (and recently to) but the #s prove that Boston is a shitty sports city. People here are Boston-sports fans, not sports-in-general fans ... and the fact that local viewership increased by a third due to the increase in local participation is proof-positive.

 

The fact that a lot of Boston sports fans are bandwagon jumpers is another declaration for another time.

[the max 0]

Patriots and Red Sox.

 

Checkmate. Before either team was worth a damn, the Sox had a hard time selling out Fenway, as did the Pats in selling out Foxboro. I know that people support a winner, but I've laughed in people's faces as they told me that they were "diehard Red Sox fans" without knowing jack and shit about stuff prior to 2003/04.

[nl5xsk1 0]

In my life, the Sox have always had an Ok fanbase, but that's mainly because lately they've been a consistently Ok team. They haven't really bottomed out in a long-ass time, so people were willing to still follow them. If they were to become a horrible team (over time, obviously, not overnight) I bet that there adoration would diminsh BIG TIME around here. And you said it best, Max: they had a hard time selling out Fenway. A very small park.

 

I'd love to see the Sox have a few 60-win seasons in a row, just to see how quickly the fans find another team to fellate. Knowing our luck it'll happen the same time the B's get great, and all of a sudden the former-Fleet will be full of the assholes.

[the max 0]

Former Fleet? What's it called now?

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

The Derek Jeter Center

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

In my life, the Sox have always had an Ok fanbase, but that's mainly because lately they've been a consistently Ok team. They haven't really bottomed out in a long-ass time, so people were willing to still follow them. If they were to become a horrible team (over time, obviously, not overnight) I bet that there adoration would diminsh BIG TIME around here. And you said it best, Max: they had a hard time selling out Fenway. A very small park.

 

In all honesty though, how many bad teams draw well, without the benefit of new ballparks?

[Jericholic82 0]

It's not a big shock that more fans attend the games when the team wins. You see that all the time.

[KingPK 0]

Former Fleet? What's it called now?

 

TD Banknorth Garden