name	Miguel Tejada
width	250
position	Third Baseman/Shortstop/Second Baseman
team	San Francisco Giants
number	10
bats	Right
throws	Right
birth date	May 25, 1974
birthplace	Bani, Dominican Republic
debutdate	August 27
debutyear	1997
debutteam	Oakland Athletics
statyear	June 6, 2011
stat1label	Batting average
stat1value	.285
stat2label	Hits
stat2value	2,331
stat3label	Home runs
stat3value	304| stat4label Runs batted in
stat4value	1,282
teams	Oakland Athletics (–) Baltimore Orioles (–) Houston Astros (–) Baltimore Orioles () San Diego Padres () San Francisco Giants ()
awards	6× All-Star selection (2002, 2004–2006, 2008–2009) 2× Silver Slugger Award winner (2004, 2005) 2002 AL MVP 2005 MLB All-Star Game MVP 2004 Home Run Derby winner }}

Miguel Odalis Tejada (born on May 25, 1974, in Baní, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball infielder who played the San Francisco Giants. He began his first six seasons of his career with the Oakland Athletics, where he began his streak of 1,152 consecutive games, that ended with the Baltimore Orioles on June 22, 2007. In 2002, he was awarded the AL MVP award, and he was the MVP of the 2005 All-Star Game.

His nickname is "La Gua Gua" which means "the bus" in certain Spanish dialects, as Tejada is known to drive in runs. On February 11, 2009, he pleaded guilty to one count of perjury for lying to Congress in his testimony on whether or not Rafael Palmeiro lied about his steroid use.

Early life

Tejada grew up in extreme poverty in Baní, a city approximately 40 miles (65 km) southwest of Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic. Miguel Tejada grew up idolizing the Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. Attended Saint Leo University during the Spring Semester of 2007. Led the Lions in all batting, pitching, and defensive categories. Miguel Tejada's rise from the slums of Baní through the minors and into the Major Leagues is chronicled in the book ''Away Games: The Life and Times of a Latin Ballplayer'' by Marcos Breton and Jose Luis Villegas. ''Away Games'' describes the struggles of Dominican players in general and Tejada in particular as they arrive in the U.S. speaking very little English often in small towns playing for minor league teams with dreams of making it big.

Career

Oakland Athletics (1997–2003)

1997–2001

Tejada developed quickly into a top-notch prospect, showing early signs of power. He reached the Majors towards the end of the 1997 season, joining a struggling Oakland Athletics club. Though he only hit .202 in 26 games that year, the A's saw potential in the 23-year-old Tejada. This was bolstered by his performance with the Edmonton Trappers (AAA) in the Pacific Coast League during the season, and returning to the minors to lead the Trappers to a PCL championship that year. He was rewarded with the starting shortstop job beginning in 1998.

The A's, and Tejada, steadily improved over the next two years. His hitting improved as he gained more discipline at the plate. In 1998, he hit .233 with 11 home runs and in 1999 his average jumped to .251 with 21 home runs.

After a solid 87-win campaign in 1999, Tejada and a core of young players led their A's to their first American League Western Division title in eight years in 2000. Bolstered by an American League MVP-winning performance by first baseman Jason Giambi, and aided by Tejada's .275 average and 30 home runs, the A's won 91 games. The A's faced the New York Yankees in the first round of the postseason, which was won by the Yankees 3-2.

In 2001, Tejada had a comparable offensive year, hitting .267 with 31 homers. The A's captured the American League wild card with a 102-60 record. In the postseason, however, the A's fell to the Yankees in five games, blowing an initial 2-0 series lead.

2002

Tejada's breakout year came in 2002. With the departure of Jason Giambi to the New York Yankees during the offseason, and a leg injury to slugger Jermaine Dye, the A's lost two of their key offensive players. Tejada hit .308 with 34 homers and led the A's to their second Western Division title in three years. Their campaign included an American League record 20 game winning-streak. Tejada contributed one-out, game-winning hits in the 18th and 19th games of that run: a three-run homer off Minnesota Twins closer Eddie Guardado for a 7-5 victory and a bases-loaded single against Kansas City Royals reliever Jason Grimsley to break a 6-6 tie. Tejada also showed modest speed on the basepaths with 18 steals over a two-year stretch. His performance was rewarded with the 2002 American League MVP award. For the third straight year, though, the A's fell in the fifth game of the ALDS, this time to the Minnesota Twins.

2003

The next year, both the A's and Tejada got off to a slow start, with the shortstop hitting under .200 for the first month of the season. Improved play in the second half of the season led the A's to their second straight Western Division title and their third in four years. Tejada hit .278 with 27 homers for the year, a decrease from his numbers in 2002, but still leading many offensive categories for shortstops.

In a tension-filled series, the powerful offense of the Boston Red Sox narrowly edged out the A's in the first round, once again in five games. Tejada was known for his public display of anger toward Boston starting pitcher Derek Lowe at the series' conclusion for what he perceived as obscene gestures. Lowe denied the accusation, claiming his fist pump was in celebration only.

Baltimore Orioles (2004–2007)

By the end of the 2003 season, Tejada had established himself as one of baseball's premier shortstops. The A's elected not to re-sign the free agent, citing budget concerns and a young Bobby Crosby coming through the system, so Tejada signed a six-year, $72 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles during the offseason.

On arrival in Baltimore, Tejada was given uniform number 10, since 4, his number in Oakland, had been retired for former manager Earl Weaver. As an Oriole, Tejada followed in the footsteps of legendary Baltimore shortstop Cal Ripken Jr.. Like Ripken, Tejada was a strong and durable shortstop with unusual power numbers for a middle infielder.

2004–2005

On July 12, 2004, Tejada won the Century 21 Home Run Derby in Houston. Tejada hit a record 27 home runs in the contest, including a record 15 homers in the second round. He defeated Houston Astros outfielder Lance Berkman (who would later become his teammate) 5-4 in the final round of the contest. Both records were broken the following year in Detroit by Bobby Abreu.

Tejada led the league with 150 RBIs in 2004.

While Tejada did not participate in the Home Run Derby in 2005, he was an All-Star and starter for the AL. In his first All-Star start, Tejada hit a solo home run against John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves, had a sacrifice RBI and was part of an all-Oriole double play with teammate Brian Roberts. His efforts earned him the All-Star MVP, winning a Chevrolet Corvette.

2005-06 offseason

On December 8, 2005, it was widely reported by the ''Associated Press'' that Tejada asked the Orioles for a trade, citing unhappiness with the team's direction. Tejada challenged those statements in an interview with Comcast Sportsnet's Kelli Johnson, saying he only asked for a better team, referring to his hope that the Baltimore Orioles would improve after their eighth straight losing season.

Several weeks later, Tejada reiterated his complaints with the Orioles' lack of action and demanded to be traded. Tejada stated that he wants a "good group that helps me to win" and commented briefly on his alleged non-involvement in Palmeiro's steroid scandal. On January 7, 2006, Tejada stated his intent to remain with Baltimore for "the rest of [his] career." This statement was made to Orioles Vice President Jim Duquette in a meeting arranged by mutual friend and teammate Melvin Mora. It was reported that Tejada was claimed by the Chicago White Sox off trade waivers, but the two teams did not make a deal for Tejada.

2006–2007

Tejada played in his 1,000th consecutive game on July 1, 2006.

Tejada's streak was at 1,151 games when he was hit on his left wrist by a pitch on June 20, 2007. The next day, he went up to bunt in the top of the first inning, bunted into a force play, and was replaced by a pinch runner. Following that game, it was announced that he had a broken wrist. On June 22 he was placed on the disabled list, ending his streak at 1,152 consecutive games, the fifth longest in Major League history, behind Cal Ripken, Jr. (2632), Lou Gehrig (2130), Everett Scott (1307), and Steve Garvey (1217).

Houston Astros (2008–2009)

On December 12, 2007, Tejada was dealt to the Houston Astros for five players, including SP Troy Patton, OF Luke Scott, RP Dennis Sarfate and RP/SP Matt Albers.

Tejada scored his 1,000th career run on July 7, 2008, at PNC Park. In the 2008 All-Star Game Tejada singled leading off the top of the eighth stole second with one out and advanced to third on a throwing error and scored on Padres' first baseman Adrian Gonzalez"s sacrifice fly.

In the 2008 season he grounded into 32 double plays, the most in the major leagues.

In 2009, he again led the majors in grounding into double plays, this time with 29.

Second run with the Orioles (2010)

On January 23, 2010, Tejada signed a one-year; 6 million dollar, contract with the Baltimore Orioles the team he previously played for.

San Diego Padres (2010)

On July 29, the Orioles traded Tejada to the San Diego Padres for minor league pitcher Wynn Pelzer. On September 22, Tejada hit his 300th career home run off Ted Lilly of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

San Francisco Giants (2011)

Tejada signed a one-year, $6.5 million, contract with the San Francisco Giants. He was designated for assignment on August 31, 2011 after batting .239 with four home runs and 26 RBIs in 91 games.

Controversies

Steroid allegations

On September 22, 2005, ESPN reported that Rafael Palmeiro, who had tested positive for steroids and was suspended for 10 games under Major League Baseball's steroid policy, implicated Tejada to baseball's arbitration panel, suggesting that a supplement given to him by Tejada was responsible for the steroid entering his system. Tejada has denied the allegations, saying that the only thing he gave Palmeiro was vitamin B-12, a completely legal substance under current MLB policy.

On September 24, 2005, the ''Baltimore Sun'' reported that "''The Health Policy Advisory Committee, which oversees baseball's testing policy, issued a statement that exonerated Tejada and chastised the media for reporting that he might have distributed steroids to another player.''"

In José Canseco's 2005 book, ''Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big'', he mentions that he believes Tejada might have taken steroids. He claims to have spoken to him about them and the next season seeing him at spring training looking more defined. He never claims to have injected him with them, like he did with Palmeiro, McGwire and other ballplayers.

On September 30, 2006 the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that former relief pitcher Jason Grimsley, during a June 6, 2006 federal raid, told federal agents investigating steroids in baseball named Tejada as a user of "anabolic steroids." The ''Times'' reported that Tejada was one of five names blacked out in an affidavit filed in federal court. However, on October 3, 2006, the ''Washington Post'' reported that San Francisco United States attorney Kevin Ryan said that the ''Los Angeles Times'' report contained "significant inaccuracies." Tejada, along with the other four players named, has denounced the story.

On December 13, 2007, Tejada was mentioned in the Mitchell Report in connection to steroids. In the report, Tejada is said to have received $1,500 worth of steroids.

A report surfaced on January 15, 2008 stating that Rep. Henry Waxman had asked the Justice Department to investigate whether Tejada was truthful when speaking to the House committee when being interviewed in 2005 regarding possible connections to Rafael Palmeiro.

On February 10, 2009, Tejada was charged with lying to Congress about performance enhancing drug usage in Major League Baseball. On February 11, Tejada pleaded guilty to charges that he lied to Congress in 2005. He faced up to one year in federal prison and deportation. On March 26, 2009, he received a one year probation.

Age

On April 17, 2008, Tejada was confronted by an ESPN reporter during a sit-down interview with documentation revealing that Tejada had been lying about his age ever since he first signed a Major League Baseball contract in 1993. Tejada had claimed to have been born in 1976 when a Dominican birth certificate showed that he was born in 1974. That birth certificate also shows the spelling of his surname as "Tejeda" rather than "Tejada". He struggled to take off his microphone and kept questioning who the interviewer was referring to. Tejada stormed off the set, effectively ending the interview.

Personal life

During the MLB offseason, Tejada resides in the florida with his wife, Alejandra, his daughter, Alexa, and his son, Miguel Jr. He also plays for the Aguilas Cibaenas, Dominican Winter League team during the MLB offseason.

See also

List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters

References

External links

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Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:Oakland Athletics players Category:Baltimore Orioles players Category:Houston Astros players Category:San Diego Padres players Category:San Francisco Giants players Category:2006 World Baseball Classic players Category:2009 World Baseball Classic players Category:American League All-Stars Category:American League RBI champions Category:American perjurors Category:Dominican Republic people of African descent Category:Doping cases in baseball Category:Drugs in sport in the United States Category:Major League Baseball All-Star Game MVPs Category:Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Category:Major League Baseball shortstops Category:National League All-Stars Category:Saint Leo University alumni Category:Southern Oregon A's players Category:Modesto A's players Category:Huntsville Stars players Category:Edmonton Trappers players Category:Frederick Keys players Category:Bowie Baysox players Category:Águilas Cibaeñas players

es:Miguel Tejada fr:Miguel Tejada ko:미겔 테하다 ja:ミゲル・テハダ zh:米格爾·特哈達

playername	Raúl Díaz Arce
fullname	Raúl Ignacio Díaz Arce
dateofbirth	February 01, 1970
cityofbirth	San Miguel
countryofbirth	El Salvador
height
position	Forward
youthyears1	|youthclubs1
years1	1988–1990 |clubs1 Dragon |caps1 ? |goals1 34
years2	1991–1996 |clubs2 Firpo |caps2 ? |goals2 119
years3	1996–1997 |clubs3 D.C. United |caps3 50 |goals3 46
years4	1998 |clubs4 New England Revolution |caps4 32 |goals4 18
years5	1999 |clubs5 San Jose Clash |caps5 18 |goals5 4
years6	1999–2000 |clubs6 Tampa Bay Mutiny |caps6 22 |goals6 13
years7	2000–2001 |clubs7 D.C. United |caps7 18 |goals7 6
years8	2001 |clubs8 Colorado Rapids |caps8 12 |goals8 3
years9	2002 |clubs9 Charleston Battery |caps9 24 |goals9 5
years10	2002 |clubs10 Águila |caps10 24 |goals10 5
years11	2003 |clubs11 Charleston Battery |caps11 26 |goals11 6
years12	2004 |clubs12 Puerto Rico Islanders |caps12 15 |goals12 7
totalcaps	241+
totalgoals	266
nationalyears1	1987–2003 |nationalteam1 El Salvador |nationalcaps1 68
nationalgoals1	39
pcupdate	30 March 2010
ntupdate	30 March 2010 }}

Raúl Díaz Arce (born February 1, 1970 in San Miguel, El Salvador) is a retired Salvadoran football player.

He is El Salvador's second most prolific goal scorer behind Jorge "Mágico" González, with 39 goals in just 68 appearances.

Playing career

Early career

From 1988 to 1991, Arce played for Dragon in the Salvadoran second division, where he was the league's leading scorer in the 1991/92 season with 21 goals. Playing for Dragon, in two seasons in first division, Ignacio Raul scored 34 goals (89/90 = 13 90/91 = 21), in the second season he was the scoring champion of the regular season when he played four laps. He then moved up to play for C.D. Luis Angel Firpo of the Salvadoran first division from 1991 to 1996. Here he would go onto win the leagues top scorer three season in a row (1993–1996) with 24, 21 and 25, respectively. In Luis Angel Firpo he scored in five seasons with a total of 119 goals. These early achievements earned him a spot in the national team and his employment in the U.S. Soccer.

D.C. United

In 1996, Diaz Arce signed with Major League Soccer, and was drafted tenth overall in the MLS Inaugural Player Draft by D.C. United. He quickly established himself as a dangerous striker in the league, scoring 23 goals in his first season with United, second in the league behind Roy Lassiter, and still the fifth best single-season mark in MLS history. Diaz Arce was also the first player in MLS history to score a hat-trick in postseason play. He scored 3 against the Tampa Bay Mutiny on October 10, 1996. DC United won 4-1 and would go on to become the first MLS Champions. Diaz Arce continued to light things up in his second season, registering 15 goals, and helping D.C. United to win their second consecutive MLS Cup.

New England Revolution

Salary cap pressures, and reported conflicts between Diaz Arce and Marco Etcheverry, resulted in D.C. trading one of the league's most prolific scorers to the New England Revolution in the offseason of 1997. Diaz Arce continued to excel in New England, scoring 18 goals and 8 assists for his new team.

End of MLS career

Nevertheless, Diaz Arce was traded again, and would eventually play for the Tampa Bay Mutiny and San Jose Clash, as well as being briefly owned by the MetroStars, registering 13 goals and 7 assists in the 1999 season. Diaz Arce would continue to be shuttled around in 2000, playing for Tampa Bay and D.C. again in 2000, and scoring a career low 9 goals. Diaz Arce continued to decline in 2001, playing only briefly for D.C. United before being traded again to the Colorado Rapids, with whom he would end his career in MLS. Diaz Arce left MLS second in career goals scored with 82, behind only Roy Lassiter, although he has fallen to sixth as Jason Kreis, Jaime Moreno, Ante Razov and Jeff Cunningham have surpassed both of their totals.

Charleston & Puerto Rico

For the 2002 season, Diaz Arce played for the Charleston Battery of the A-League, scoring 6 goals and 4 assists in 1319 minutes. He was not the success Charleston had hoped for, however, and left following the year. In 2004, Diaz Arce joined the struggling expansion Puerto Rico Islanders, and gave the team a significant boost, scoring two goals in his first game and a total of 7 in 1233 minutes, and helping the team attain a level of respectability. He is now the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Director at the Chicago Magico Soccer Club.

International career

Diaz Arce made his debut for El Salvador in an April 1991 UNCAF Nations Cup qualification match against Nicaragua in which he immediately scored 2 goals and has earned a total of 68 caps, scoring a record 39 goals. He has represented his country in 28 FIFA World Cup qualification matches and played at several UNCAF Nations Cups as well as at the 1996 and 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cups.

His final international was a September 2000 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Honduras.

Honours

Club honours

Luis Ángel Firpo

* Primera Division (2): 1991/92, 1992/93

D.C. United:

* MLS Cup (2): 1996, 1997

* MLS Supporters' Shield (1): 1997

* U.S. Open Cup (1): 1996

Charleston Battery:

* USL First Division (1): 2003

* Southern Derby (1): 2003

''On August 26, 2009, Díaz-Arce was announced as a new member in the DC United Hall of Tradition.''

References

External links

Charleston Battery Player Profile

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:People from San Miguel, El Salvador Category:Association football forwards Category:Salvadoran footballers Category:Salvadoran expatriate footballers Category:El Salvador international footballers Category:1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Category:1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Category:C.D. Luís Angel Firpo footballers Category:D.C. United players Category:New England Revolution players Category:San Jose Clash players Category:Tampa Bay Mutiny players Category:Colorado Rapids players Category:Charleston Battery players Category:C.D. Aguila footballers Category:Puerto Rico Islanders players Category:Expatriate soccer players in the United States Category:Expatriate footballers in Puerto Rico Category:Salvadoran expatriates in Puerto Rico Category:USL First Division players Category:Salvadoran football managers

ca:Raúl Díaz Arce de:Raúl Díaz Arce es:Raúl Díaz Arce fr:Raúl Díaz Arce it:Raúl Díaz Arce pl:Raúl Díaz Arce