The Houston Astros made some serious noise when they acquired superstar shortstop Miguel Tejada in a trade with the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles received outfielder Luke Scott, third basemen Mike Costanzo, and three pitching prospects in return. We've taken the liberty of simulating a full baseball season using MLB 2K7 to see what kind of success Tejada and the Stros' can expect from this blockbuster deal.
Over the past five season with the Orioles, Tejada has averaged 26 HR, 107 RBI, and a .304 average at the plate. Any team would clearly be happy with consistent production like this from their shortstop every year. Unfortunately, Tejada's time begin running out in Baltimore only a few seasons in because he didn't feel that the front office was making enough of an effort to win games. Tejada's unhappiness, combined with one of his worst seasons as a pro (.296, 18 HR, 81 RBI), lead to his departure from the Orioles. The question now is will Tejada be able make an impact in Houston?
During our simulation we could see early that plugging Miggy into a lineup with Berkman and Lee was making a difference. The Astros jumped out to a lead in the Central Divison that appeared like it might take them to the title. Tejada's individual production took a big step up from the previous season, highlighted by an August where he was named Batter Of The Month for the National League. Miggy finished August with 11 bombs, 31 runs driven in, and a .373 average.
Oddly enough, by season's end Tejada had hit 41 homeruns. The 41 jacks was a career high for Tejada, which placed him 3rd in all of baseball behind Albert Pujols and Alex Rodriguez. Tejada also finished the season with a .310 average and 127 RBI's. If Houston gets this kind of production from Tejada next season you can expect the front office to be very happy with the decision to make the trade. The one feat Tejada didn't achieve is being named the starter for the All-Star game at the midway point of the season. That accomplishment went to next year's coverboy for MLB 2K8, New York Mets' shortstop Jose Reyes. The one result that the front office won't be too pleased about is the third place finish in the Central Division. Even worse, the Astros ending up missing the Wild card by just a single game. Still, Houston improved on last year's record of 73-89 by adding 15 more victories to this season. The Astros may not have made the playoffs, but a 15 game turn around and a career season from Tejada will surely be enough to fill some seats to bring some excitement to the stadium!
