Teixeira calls Jeffrey Maier play 'One of the worst calls in baseball history'

Baltimore Orioles fans can rest easy that their biggest playoff nemesis Jeffrey Maier won't be anywhere near the American League Division Series over the next week.  Maier made it clear that he will be spending time with his family in New Hampshire and has put the the infamous incident behind him.

Sixteen years later though, the "Jeffrey Maier Game" still resonates with a New York Yankees' player — Mark Teixeira. And he wasn't even there.

Growing up in the Baltimore area, Teixeira said he was dejected when his hometown Orioles were beaten by the controversial 1996 playoff call.  The famous video of the 12-year old Maier reaching over the Yankee Stadium wall and robbing outfielder Tony Tarasco of the ball is the stuff of Yankees legend — and Orioles pain.

Now, on the eve of the Orioles-Yankees ALDS and wearing the one-time despised pinstripes, Teixeira recalled the controversial non-call that many consider the most famous play in the long Yankees-Orioles history.

"One of the worst calls in baseball history," said Teixeira.  "That hurt as an Oriole fan in high school."

While New York fans can smile when looking back at Derek Jeter's controversial  home run — in a game that many believe was the launching pad for the current Yankees dynasty — Teixeira still has mixed feelings about it.

When asked Friday if it means something to him facing his favorite boyhood team, the Orioles, in the playoffs, Tex sounded coy.

"I haven't really thought about that yet," he said, before giving it a second.  "I guess so."