HB Exclusive Interview with Mark Teahen of the Kansas City Royals

The day was June 4th 2002 the beginning of a new chapter for many as the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft is set to begin. A day that would give a College Baseball player from St. Mary’s College and a California Native a chance to live out every boys childhood dream.

That dream would come true for Mark Teahen when the Oakland A’s would call his name with the 39th overall pick during the 2002 MLB Draft. Teahen would spend the next two years playing in the A’s minor league system before the team elected to send him in a three team deal to the Kansas City Royals. Teahen who was compared by some of the A’s organization would get the fresh start he would need.

The move would payoff as Teahen impressed down the stretch before earning a chance to fight for a job. Teahen wouldn’t disappoint during spring training hitting .344 opening up the door for his chance to land the starting third base duties for the Royals after injuries to other potential candidates.

While Teahen had his ups and downs as a rookie, the Royals third baseman would go on to hit .246 to go with 29 doubles, four triples and seven home runs. Teahan would finish his rookie campaign red hot hitting our of those seven home runs over the last month of the season.

Teahen would build on that success during the following season as Teahen was on his way to becoming a household name in Kansas City. That success during the 2006 season including putting together one of the best months any Royals player has ever had as Teahen would hit 10 home runs while picking up 35 runs batted in.

Along with becoming a name on the diamond in Kansas City, Teahen would also play a key role in the community. Teahen would spend time as a key spokesman for the Challenger Sports Complex being built for the Challenger Division Little League Program that is apart of the YMCA of Kansas City.

Over the next few seasons, Teahen would spend time as a key option of the Royals lineup appearing in at least 144 games from 2007 to 2009. A stretch that would include hitting at least 31 doubles in all three seasons as well as double digit home runs in two of the three seasons.

The production during the 2009 MLB Season paved another new path as he would be dealt to the Chicago White Sox in the winter of 2009 before signing a brand new three year deal. Teahan would spend parts of those three years with the White Sox before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays before the trade deadline during the 2011 season.

Over his seven year Major League Baseball career, Teahen would go on to pickup 163 doubles, 26 triples and 67 home runs. His baseball career wouldn’t slow down in just the Majors as he had the chance to play for Canada during the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Now Teahen will continue his playing days in the Italian Baseball League after signing with Padua. Teahen who might not go down with the accolades of a Hall Of Famer but played the game of baseball the way every little boy did in his backyard growing up while helping the community around him.

We recently had the pleasure to chat with Mark; here is our Q&A:

Do you have the career moment that you reply in your head from time to time? I replay breaking my finger on a ground ball hit to me in May of 2010 by Evan Longoria playing 3rd base at Tropicana Field. It caught me on the middle finger of my throwing hand and put me on the DL for 3 months. After that injury I was moved to a bench role and never worked back into being a starter. I wonder how or if my career would have been different without that ground ball.

If you were ever asked to be in the HOF…what team would you go in as? I fully expect to be put in the HOF one day and although the best years of my career were with the Kansas City, and I loved being a Royal, I would probably pick to go into the HOF as a Cincinnati Red because I was part of their organization for 24 hrs in 2013 before they voided my minor league trade over an injury that didn’t exist but was worrisome enough send me back to the Diamondbacks AAA team in Reno.

What do you do in your spare time when your not playing baseball? In my spare time I live it up with my three kids ages 4,2 and 6 months, I attempt to find free time with my wife, and together we run our wine bar, a large charity event and golf once every other month.

So you’ve made the decision to play in the Italian League, how did this move come to be? I looked into playing in Italy 3 years ago after the Giants released me in Spring Training 2014. A team I talked to back then reached out in November and it seemed like an opportunity I didn’t want my family or me to miss. I jumped into training and reminding myself how to play baseball. I’m looking forward to taking in the Italian culture and reminding my kids and fans that I’m a big deal.

Can you describe to the average person what its like to be an Italian Superstar Baseball player! I’m not sure I can explain to an average person what it’s like to be an Italian Baseball Superstar. Mainly because I’m not sure an average person could even comprehend the magnitude of being an Italian Baseball Superstar and secondly I have yet to achieve being an Italian Baseball Superstar so I can’t fully speak to the coolness it provides. I can give a fail-proof step by step plan on becoming an Italian Baseball Superstar which I demonstrate through my Instagram.