Miguel Odalis Tejada (néTejeda;^[1][2] born May 25, 1974) is a Dominican former professionalbaseballshortstop who played 16 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB). He played for six teams, most notably theOakland Athletics andBaltimore Orioles, before short stints with theHouston Astros,San Diego Padres,San Francisco Giants, andKansas City Royals.

Miguel Tejada
Tejada with the Orioles in 2006
Shortstop
Born: (1974-05-25)May 25, 1974 (age 50) Baní,Dominican Republic
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 27, 1997, for the Oakland Athletics
Last MLB appearance
August 10, 2013, for the Kansas City Royals
MLB statistics
Batting average	.285
Hits	2,407
Home runs	307
Runs batted in	1,302
Stats atBaseball Reference
Teams
Oakland Athletics (1997–2003) Baltimore Orioles (2004–2007) Houston Astros (2008–2009) Baltimore Orioles (2010) San Diego Padres (2010) San Francisco Giants (2011) Kansas City Royals (2013)
Career highlights and awards
6×All-Star (2002,2004–2006,2008,2009) AL MVP (2002) 2×Silver Slugger Award (2004, 2005) MLB RBI leader (2004) Athletics Hall of Fame
Medals Men'sbaseball Representing Dominican Republic World Baseball Classic 2013 San Francisco Team

Tejada spent his first six seasons in MLB with the Athletics, where he began a streak of 1,152consecutive games that ended with the Orioles on June 22, 2007. He is a six-timeAll-Star and a two-timeSilver Slugger Award winner. In 2002, he won theAmerican LeagueMost Valuable Player (MVP) Award, and was the2005All-Star Game MVP. Tejada's nickname is "La Guagua", which means "the bus" in certain Spanish dialects, after his ability to drive in runs. He was the last Oakland Athletics player to win the American League MVP award before theteam’s relocation in 2025.

On February 11, 2009, he pleaded guilty to one count ofperjury for lying toCongress in his testimony on whetherRafael Palmeiro lied about his steroid use.^[3] On August 17, 2013, MLB suspended Tejada for 105 games for violating MLB drug policy. It was the third-longest non-lifetime suspension ever issued by MLB for a drug-related violation.^[4][5]

Tejada grew up in extreme poverty inBaní, a city about 40 miles (65 km) southwest ofSanto Domingo, capital of theDominican Republic. He grew up idolizing the Baltimore Orioles shortstopCal Ripken Jr.^[6]

Tejada developed quickly into a top-notch prospect, showing early signs of power. He reached the Majors towards the end of the1997 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 theEdmonton Trappers (AAA) in thePacific 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 in1998.

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 11home runs and in1999 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 firstAmerican League Western Division title in eight years in2000. Bolstered by anAmerican League MVP-winning performance byfirst basemanJason Giambi, and aided by Tejada's .275 average and 30 home runs, the A's won 91 games. TheA's faced theNew York Yankees in thefirst round of the postseason, which was won by the Yankees 3–2.

In2001, Tejada had a comparable offensive year, hitting .267 with 31 homers. TheA's captured the American Leaguewild card with a 102–60 record. In thepostseason, however, the A's fell to theYankees in five games, blowing an initial 2–0 series lead.

Tejada's breakout year came in2002. With the departure of Jason Giambi to theNew York Yankees during the offseason, and a leg injury to sluggerJermaine Dye, the A's lost two of their key offensive players. Tejada hit .308 with 34 homers and led theA'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 offMinnesota Twins closerEddie Guardado for a 7–5 victory and a bases-loaded single againstKansas City Royals relieverJason Grimsley to break a 6–6 tie. His regular season 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 theALDS, this time to theMinnesota Twins.

Thenext year, both theA'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 atension-filled series, the powerful offense of theBoston 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 pitcherDerek Lowe at the series' conclusion for what he perceived as obscene gestures. Lowe denied the accusation, claiming his fist pump was in celebration only.^[7][8]

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 youngBobby 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 managerEarl Weaver. As an Oriole, Tejada followed in the footsteps of legendary Baltimore shortstopCal Ripken Jr. Like Ripken, Tejada was a strong and durable shortstop with unusual power numbers for a middle infielder.

On July 12, 2004, Tejada won theCentury 21Home Run Derby inHouston. Tejada hit a (then) record 27home runs in the contest, including a record 15 homers in the second round. He defeatedHouston Astros outfielderLance Berkman (who would later become his teammate) 5–4 in the final round of the contest.^[9] Both records were broken the following year inDetroit byBobby Abreu. Tejada finished the 2004 season with 34 home runs and an MLB-leading 150 RBIs, and won his first careerSilver Slugger Award.

While Tejada did not participate in the Home Run Derby in 2005, he was anAll-Star and starter for theAL. In his first All-Star start, Tejada hit a solohome run againstJohn Smoltz of theAtlanta Braves, had a sacrifice RBI and was part of an all-Oriole double play with teammateBrian Roberts. His efforts earned him theAll-Star MVP, winning aChevrolet Corvette.

In the winter of 2005, Tejada asked the Orioles for a trade, citing unhappiness with the team's direction, while commenting briefly on his alleged non-involvement in Palmeiro's steroid scandal.^[10][11] Weeks would go by before Tejada relented on the idea of being traded away, although the Orioles would later try to offload him during the 2006 All-Star break (with the Los Angeles Angels being one of the teams that failed to meet the asking price).^[11]

Tejada played in his 1,000thconsecutive game on July 1, 2006.^[12]

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, behindCal Ripken Jr. (2,632),Lou Gehrig (2,130),Everett Scott (1,307), andSteve Garvey (1,217).^[13]

On December 12, 2007, Tejada was dealt to theHouston Astros for five players, including SPTroy Patton, OFLuke Scott, RPDennis Sarfate and RP/SPMatt Albers.^[14]

Tejada scored his 1,000th career run on July 7, 2008, atPNC Park. In the2008 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 basemanAdrián González's sacrifice fly.

In the2008 season he grounded into 32 double plays, the most in the major leagues.^[15] In2009, he again led the majors in grounding into double plays, this time with 29.^[16] He became the first player in major league history to lead the league in double plays grounded into five times.^[17]

On January 23, 2010, Tejada agreed to a one-year deal worth $6 million with the Orioles.^[18]

On July 29, the Orioles traded Tejada to theSan Diego Padres for minor league pitcherWynn Pelzer.^[19][20] On September 22, Tejada hit his 300th careerhome run offTed Lilly of theLos Angeles Dodgers.

Tejada signed a one-year, $6.5 million, contract with theSan Francisco Giants.^[21] He wasdesignated for assignment on August 31, 2011 after batting .239 with four home runs and 26 RBIs in 91 games.^[22] He was released on September 8, 2011.^[23]

On May 6, 2012, Tejada reached an agreement on a contract with the Orioles.^[24][25] He failed to make the Major League club's roster however, and played for their Triple-A affiliateNorfolk team until requesting his outright release, which was granted on June 25, 2012.^[26]

On December 31, 2012, Tejada signed a minor league contract with theKansas City Royals. According to the Associated Press, he was to earn $1.1 million plus performance incentives worth an additional $400,000 if he made the Royals Major League 40-man roster for 2013.^[26]

On August 17, 2013, Tejada received a 105-game suspension from Major League Baseball following two positive drug tests foramphetamines. Tejada claimed to have been in the process of re-applying for a therapeutic use exemption as he used the drug to treat a medical condition, but he chose not to appeal the decision. Due to a calf injury suffered prior to the ban, Tejada was not likely to play in the remaining 41 games of the 2013 season anyway, though they counted toward his suspension. He also was not allowed to play in the first 64 games of the 2014 season.^[4]

On May 16, 2014, Tejada signed a minor league contract with theMiami Marlins. Tejada was required to serve the remaining 64 games left on his suspension before being available to be called up by the Marlins.^[27] On August 2, Tejada was released by the Marlins.^[28]

On April 4, 2015, Tejada signed with thePericos de Puebla of theMexican League. In 105 games he hit .324/.368/.446 with 7 home runs, 70 RBIs and 1 stolen base.

Tejada was eligible to be elected into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in2019,^[29] but received less than 5% of the vote and became ineligible for the2020 ballot. In August 2024, he was elected to theOakland Athletics Hall of Fame.^[30]

In 2171 games over 16 seasons, Tejada posted a career .285batting average (2407-for-8434) which includes 1230runs, 468doubles, 23triples, 307home runs, 1302RBI, 85stolen bases, 553walks, .336on-base percentage, and .456slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded an overall .971fielding percentage primarily as a shortstop.^[31]

On September 22, 2005,ESPN reported thatRafael 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 denied the allegations,^[32] saying that the only thing he gave Palmeiro wasvitamin B-12, a legal substance under MLB policy.

On September 24, 2005, theBaltimore 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."^[33]

InJosé Canseco's 2005 book,Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, he mentioned that he believed 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, theLos Angeles Times reported that former relief pitcherJason Grimsley, during a June 6, 2006, federal raid, told federal agents investigating steroids in baseball named Tejada as a user of "anabolic steroids." TheTimes reported that Tejada was one of five names blacked out in an affidavit filed in federal court.^[34] However, on October 3, 2006, theWashington Post reported that San Francisco United States attorney Kevin Ryan said that theLos Angeles Times report contained "significant inaccuracies."^[35] Tejada, along with the other four players named, denounced the story.^[35]

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

A report surfaced on January 15, 2008, stating that Rep.Henry Waxman had asked theJustice Department to investigate whether Tejada was truthful when speaking to the House committee when being interviewed in 2005 regarding possible connections to Rafael Palmeiro.^[36][37]

On February 10, 2009, Tejada was charged with lying to Congress about performance-enhancing drug usage in Major League Baseball.^[38] On February 11, Tejada pleaded guilty to charges that he lied to Congress in 2005.^[39] He faced up to one year in federal prison and deportation.^[40] On March 26, 2009, he received one-year probation.^[41]

On August 17, 2013, Tejada was suspended 105 games for testing positive twice foramphetamines, specifically the prescription medicationadderall.^[42] Tejada claimed he had medical permission from MLB to use the drug to treatADD, but it expired on April 15, 2013, and he continued to use it without gaining a new permission from MLB.^[43] The suspension was the third-longest non-lifetime ban issued by MLB for a drug violation.

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 as "Miguel Tejeda."^[1][2] He struggled to take off his microphone and kept questioning who the interviewer was referring to. Tejada stormed off the set, ending the interview. Before the interview was aired on April 22, 2008, he acknowledged having been born in 1974.^[44]

On June 5, 2023, Tejada was appointed the manager of the Karachi Monarchs, a Pakistan-based franchise in theBaseball United league, which plans to bring baseball to South Asia and the Middle East.^[45]

On February 10, 2025, Tejada was hired to serve as the bench coach for theBravos de León of theMexican League.^[46]

Tejada has a chicken farm in Florida where he lives with his wife, Alejandra, and his daughter, Alexa.^[47] His son, Miguel Jr., was a shortstop in thePhiladelphia Phillies organization.^[48]

Tejada was childhood friends withMario Encarnación and, when Encarnación died in Taiwan in 2005, Tejada paid for his body to be transported back to the Dominican Republic and for a headstone at a cemetery in Baní.^[49][50][51]

On August 20, 2015, Reorg Research reported that Tejada had filed for bankruptcy.^[52]

• Career statistics fromMLB, orESPN, orBaseball Reference, orFangraphs, orBaseball Reference (Minors), orRetrosheet