The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Former Longhorn Teagarden makes Major League Baseball debut
07.23.2008 | Baseball
July 21, 2008
AUSTIN, Texas -- Taylor Teagarden made his Major League Baseball debut on Friday, July 18, becoming the 95th player to finish his collegiate career as a Longhorn and go on to appear in a Major League game.
Last Friday, Teagarden, who was called up by the Texas Rangers to help fill in for injured catcher Gerald Laird, made his first big-league start at the Metrodome against the Minnesota Twins.
The major league debut came during a highlight-filled week for the former Horns backstop. Teagarden appeared in the 2008 XM All-Star Futures Game on Sunday, July 13 at Yankee Stadium. On Wednesday, he was named to the U.S. Olympic Baseball team and is slated to head to Beijing in August as the third Longhorn to ever appear on an Olympic diamond.
Teagarden capped a whirlwind week last Sunday with a performance that included hitting the game-winning home run and calling his first career shutout behind the plate against the Twins. His solo blast in the sixth inning scored the only run of the game in the Rangers¹ 1-0 win.
Teagarden was a three-year letterwinner at Texas from 2003-05. The catcher was a leading catalyst on the Longhorns' 2005 National Championship squad, batting .333 with 52 runs, 22 doubles, seven home runs and 33 RBI. He was clutch en route to the College World Series in 2005, earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the NCAA Regional before being named to the CWS All-Tournament team.
In 2004, Teagarden played in all 73 games, hitting .273 with 50 runs, 17 doubles, 10 home runs and 51 RBI to help the Longhorns advance to the College World Series championship game.
Teagarden began his career with a Freshman All-America campaign in 2003. He hit .315 with 13 doubles, three triples, five home runs and 41 RBI in 62 games.
For his career, Teagarden was a three-time All-Big 12 performer with honorable mention status in 2003 and 2004 and first-team recognition in 2005. He ranks ninth on UT's career doubles list with 52, fifth in hit-by-pitches with 25 and sixth in sacrifice bunts with 28.
