ATLANTA (June 7) — Georgia Tech third baseman Mark Teixeira has been named a Freshman of the Year by Collegiate Baseball magazine along with Tulane second baseman James Jurries and Florida State pitcher Blair Varnes.
Teixeira, a switch-hitter from Severna Park, Md., who also made the magazine’s all-freshman team, becomes the first Georgia Tech baseball player ever to receive such an honor. The only freshman named to the all-ACC first team, he earned the conference’s Rookie of the Year honor two weeks ago.
Teixeira was Tech’s team leader in batting average (.387), runs (61), hits (87), home runs (13), doubles (18), RBI (65), slugging percentage (.640) and on-base percentage (.478) this season, while also ranking second in walks (39) and stolen bases (11-of-13). He ranks in the ACC’s top 10 (fourth in batting average) in all of those categories except steals. He set Tech freshman records for RBI and base hits and tied another for doubles, and became the first freshman to lead Tech in batting since 1978. He was the only Tech player to play in, and start, every game this season as the Yellow Jackets posted a 38-20 record.
Neither catcher Jason Varitek nor shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, who won ACC Rookie of the Year awards in 1991 and 1992 and were later first round draft choices, won a national freshman of the year honor. The 6-2, 218-pounder received an invitation to the USA Baseball trials this month, but declined and will play at Orleans in the Cape Cod League this summer.
Teixeira's 1999 StatisticsYear Avg. G-GS AB R H BI 2B 3B HR SB1999 .387 58-58 225 61 87 65 18 0 13 11
