Baltimore Sports Then and Now

Tejada struggled at third base for the Orioles.

For the second time in three years, the Baltimore Orioles have traded veteran infielder Miguel Tejada. This time the O’s dealt Tejada to San Diego for minor league pitcher Wynn Pelzer.

Tejada leaves a team that has the worst record in baseball and is 33 games out of first place for a squad that is currently leading their division and looking to reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2006 season.

After playing third base for the Orioles this season, the Padres expect Tejada to see action at both third base and his natural position of shortstop.

Offensively, Tejada has struggled at times this season hitting only .269 with seven home runs and 39 RBI. He is a career .288 hitter with 292 home runs and 1,224 RBI.

After playing in the American League for his first 11 major league seasons, Tejada was traded by the Orioles to the Houston Astros prior to the 2008 season and hit .298 with 27 home runs and 152 RBI on his two seasons with the Astros. Read the rest of this entry →

After a two-year exile to Houston, Miguel Tejada is returning to the Orioles as the new third baseman.

After a two-year hiatus, former Baltimore Orioles star Miguel Tejada is rejoining the O’s after agreeing to a one-year, $6-million contract according to a number of reports. He is expected to move from his traditional shortstop position to third base.

His first stint with the Orioles from 2004-2007 was full of offensive production, but was also not without controversy.

Tejada was a three-time All-Star for the Orioles. He led the American League with 150 RBIs in 2004 and paced the league with 50 doubles in 2005.

In four seasons with the O’s, Tejada hit .311 with 102 home runs and 429 runs batted in.

Tejada has been linked to the baseball steroid era and in 2009 was the first high-profile player convicted of a crime related to steroids.

Former teammate Rafael Palmeiro claimed that Tejada mistakenly injected him with a tainted substance in 2005, resulting in a positive steroid test for the former Baltimore first baseman. Read the rest of this entry →