Former Major League Baseball slugger Mark Teixeira loved to take what he considered mini vacations at the guard-gated Vaquero country club, where hehas a homeoutside of Dallas.
"I’d go work out, get a massage, then get lunch," said Mr. Teixeira, who played for the Texas Rangers from 2003-07 and later for the New York Yankees from 2009 until his retirement in 2016.
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After lunch, he’d play a round of golf and grab a beer at the clubhouse. "I’d come back and feel like I went on a small vacation," the former All-Star first baseman told Mansion Global.
Mr. Teixeira, 37, and his wife, Leigh Williams Teixeira, have decided to part with their two-story, stone-clad mansion in the Vaquero golf community and will sell it to the highest bidder in an auction on May 12, the retired Yankee said.
In 2005, a couple years into his tenure with the Rangers, Mr. Teixeira was in the market for a larger home with more security, when he decided to play golf with a buddy at Vaquero.
"It was the coolest resort community I’d ever seen," Mr. Teixeira recalled thinking. He got on the phone with his wife, telling her "I just found the place where we’re going to live."
In the end, they picked up a one-acre lot with a house that was still partly under construction. County property records don’t reveal how much the couple paid.
Their sprawling stone and stucco mansion has a pool, hot tub and cloistered patio. Balconies off the second level overlook the bucolic golf club. Inside, the Teixeiras finished the home with a mixture of traditional and rustic details, according to photos from Elite Auctions.
The main living room centers on a dramatic, stone-clad fireplace, and carved walnut paneling decorates a cozy-looking double-height library. The hodgepodge of finishes includes a brick-lined wine cellar, stained-glass windows and distressed hardwood floors.
An indoor-outdoor theater is one of several custom spaces they created while completing the home, Mr. Teixeira said. The back of the theater opens out into an outdoor kitchen and patio space.
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They also built a playroom with its own kitchen for their three children above the garage. The next owner could keep it as a play space or turn into a billiards room or bar. "It’s such a cool escape," he said. "You can play music or play pool with people at the bar and not worry about the noise."
The property served as their main residence until 2010, when they moved to the New York City area. They now make their home in Greenwich, Connecticut.
They’ve tried to sell the house before, listing it for between $4 million and $5.75 million, but wound up renting it out for the majority of the last seven years. They’ve decided to skip the listing process, which Mr. Teixeira said he found too time consuming, this time.
Instead, the home will go straight to auction at the suggestion of their financial adviser, who is also handling the sale of another baseball great, Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken, Jr., whose Maryland home goes to auction on the same day in May.
Elite Auctions is managing the sale with no reserve price. They have scheduled private showings every weekend from April 21 through May 6. There will be a final preview on the eve of the May 12 auction, which will take place on site, according to the auctioneers.
Luxury estate auctions have seen an uptick in recent years,Mansion Global has previously reported. Elite Auctions projects its sales to up 250% in 2018 and seller inquiries have tripled compared to this time last year, said Tara McLean, vice president of operations at Elite Auctions. "Luxury auctions are becoming very popular," she said.