#Mark Teixeira is leaving ESPN early

Mark Teixeira is hanging up the microphone.

The former Yankees slugger announced Tuesday that he is leaving ESPN to pursue other opportunities after spending four years at the network as an MLB analyst following his retirement from baseball in 2016.

“This morning I notified ESPN that I will forgo the final year of my contract and will be taking some time off from television,” Teixeira wrote in a statement posted to his Twitter account. “My last day at ESPN will be February 28th. I will be spending more time on business and personal opportunities that have materialized over the past year, and simply won’t have time to work for the network. Those opportunities include moving my family back to Texas, finishing my bachelor’s degree at Georgia Tech, as well as focusing more time on investing and philanthropy. 

“I enjoyed every moment of my four years working for ESPN and will forever cherish the relationships I have built during that time. I want to especially thank Gregg Colli, Karl Ravech and Tim Kurkjian for being the best teammates in baseball. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity that ESPN gave me and have a new appreciation for the hard work and dedication that it takes to be a member of sports media. Finally, a huge thank you to all the baseball fans that watched me on the field and in front of the camera.”

The 40-year-old Teixeira was hired at ESPN in February of 2017 and was a regular analyst on “Baseball Tonight” in addition to making appearances on other shows. He had re-signed with ESPN on a multi-year deal in December of 2018.

Teixeira, who spent the final eight years of his MLB career with the Yankees, had left Georgia Tech early after being the No. 5 pick of the Rangers in 2001.