In 2009, Mark Teixeira signed a staggering 8 year $180 million contract. In the first three years he drove in over 100 runs per year. In the 4th year, he drove in 84 runs.He never drove in 80 runs in a year again. He struggled with different injuries for the final four years of the contract. In 2013, he only played 15 games. For the last three seasons, his batting average never exceeded .255 with a big decrease in all his power numbers.
Here is an example of his drop off –
Home Runs first 4 years:135 / Final 4 seasons: 71
RBIs first 4 years: 425 / Final 4 season 169
The conclusion is that, in the final 4 seasons Mark Teixeira was tremendously overpaid for his performance. Not surprisingly, he retired at the end of the contract at the age of 36.
