What Is Miguel Tejada's Net Worth?
Miguel Tejada is a Dominican former professional baseball player who has a net worth of $40 thousand. Unfortunately, despite making a little under $100 million in salary during his career in MLB salaries alone, Miguel Tejada reportedly filed for personal bankruptcy in 2015. Miguel Tejada, AKA "La Guagua," made a name for himself over a sixteen-year MLB career for his ability to drive in runs. He played for six teams, most notably the Oakland Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, as a premier shortstop in the league.
Bankruptcy and Arrest Warrant
As we just mentioned, despite earning $96 million in salary during his career, Miguel reportedly filed for personal bankruptcy in 2015.
In November 2022, he was reportedly arrested in the Dominican Republic for allegedly passing bad checks.
Early Life
Miguel Odalis Tejada was born on May 25, 1974, in Bani, a city about 40 miles southwest of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Growing up in extreme poverty, he idolized Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr. and worked hard to build his baseball skills so that he could be competitive in the United States. Miguel caught the attention of minor league scouts in the mid-1990s.
MLB Career
Miguel Tejada signed on with the Oakland Athletics and was assigned to their minor league system. He showed early signs of power and quickly developed into a top-notch prospect. He joined the struggling Athletics major league club in 1997 and returned to the minors to help lead the Edmonton Trappers (AAA) to a PCL championship. Miguel was rewarded with the starting shortstop gig in 1998.
As he improved and became more disciplined at the plate over the next two years, the Oakland A's also improved as a team. The club won 87 games in 1999 and their first American League Western Division title in eight years in 2000. Tejada's breakout year was in 2002, during which he hit .308 along with 34 homers and helped lead the A's to their second Western Division title in three years. He played with Oakland until 2004, when he joined the Baltimore Orioles as one of the game's top players. He played with the Orioles until 2007 and again in 2010 and 2012, the Houston Astros from 2008 to 2009, the San Diego Padres in 2010, the San Francisco Giants in 2011, and the Kansas City Royals in 2013. Miguel signed a minor league contract with the Miami Marlins in 2014 but failed to make the team and was released.
Tejada was a six-time All-Star (2002, 2004-2006, 2008, 2009) and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner (2004, 2005). He won the AL MVP award in 2020 and was the MLB RBI leader for 2004. He hit for an average of .285 to go along with 2,407 hits, 307 home runs, and 1,302 runs batted in over his career.
Contracts & Career Earnings
Miguel Tejada signed his entry-level four-year, $11.3 million contract with the Oakland Athletics in 2000. He signed a six-year, $72 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles in December 2003. Miguel then played on one-year contracts with the Orioles, Giants, and Royals worth $6 million, $6.5 million, and $1.1 million, respectively.
During his career, Tejada earned more than $96 million from salary alone. He earned millions more from endorsements.
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Personal Life
Miguel is married to Alejandra, and they live on a chicken farm in Florida. The couple has two children: a daughter, Alexa, and a son, Miguel Jr., who played shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Tejada was childhood friends with Mario Encarnacion, who played professionally for the Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs. After Mario's death in 2005, Miguel paid to have his body transported to the Dominican Republic and for a headstone at a Bali cemetery.
Tejada was part of the 2005 MLB investigation into steroid use and was sentenced to one-year probation in 2009 for lying to Congress.
Florida Mansion
In 2006, Miguel paid $3.5 million for a 6,500-square-foot waterfront mansion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He listed this home for sale in September 2013 for $5.5 million. A year later, he raised the price to $6 million. He finally accepted $2.33 million in December 2017. Shortly before the home sold, burglars broke into the property, vandalized it, and stole $500,000 worth of valuables.
