The 37 year old Tejada is nearing the end of his MLB career, but should still have a couple good years left. He played in 91 games last year for the Giants. While his offensive output is down from his peak, he is still a very good fielder and can play three infield positions.
Adam Brush has been training with Tejada in Florida for several years. A former college player that is a National Strength and Conditioning Association certified trainer, Brush has worked with a number of big league players including Manny Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez, Ramon Hernandez, Luis Hernandez, Juan Rincon, and Ardolis Chapman. He is the owner of Five Tool Baseball Performance Training.
According to Brush, Tejada looks great and is ready to go.
"Miguel is a joy to work with. He absolutely loves the game of baseball, and playing the game is what he wants to do. He knows what it takes to play in the big leagues, and he knows that he can still produce at that MLB level," Brush said through a phone call.
Continuing, Brush says, "I first worked with Miguel over five years and he looks as good as he ever has. He is taking over 200 ground balls and hitting four days a week. And we are doing baseball strength and conditioning work three times per week. He is working extremely hard, so that when he does get a phone call, he is ready to go."
A native of the Dominican Republic, Tejada is a legend in his home country. He has played 15 seasons in the major leagues, but has actually played more years than that in the Dominican Winter League (LIDOM). Tejada is known as "the nation's ball player" or "the patriot player" in his home country, due to his prowess on the field in LIDOM action and his ability to represent Dominican baseball through numerous avenues.
Adam Brush witnessed the love that Dominicans have for Tejada during a training trip to the Dominican Republic. They went to a LIDOM game one night.
Brush explains, "he stood up, got in the aisle to leave, and the entire stadium went crazy. There were people yelling his name, taking pictures with their cell phones. It was like a rock star. It blew me away because I had never seen anything like it in my life."
"The Dominican baseball fans are absolutely unbelievable fans," said Brush.
A career .286 hitter, Tejada has played in Oakland, Baltimore, Houston, San Diego, and San Francisco. He is a 6 time all-star and former MVP winner, so at the very least he is a great mentor for young players, especially Dominican players. Miguel is from Bani, Dominican Republic.
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| Dominican baseball star Miguel Tejada with the Orioles in 2007, photo by Keith Allison on Flickr |
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