SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -Miguel Tejada returned to where he began his career, ready to face many of his former fans with a clear conscience.
Last month, Houston's star shortstop told the Astros he's actually 33, two years older than what the Oakland Athletics and everybody else thought when he signed with the organization in 1993 to escape the poverty he grew up in back home in his native Dominican Republic.
Tejada, the 2002 AL MVP, will turn 34 on May 25.
``Everything, all that stuff, is in the past,'' Tejada said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press before his team opened a four-game series against the San Francisco Giants. ``Whatever happened, happened. I'm not going to let it hang over my head. It's good to get it over with. I did it because the people in Houston really respect me a lot and I want to give them respect.''
Tejada is playing his first season in the National League with the Astros following four years with the Baltimore Orioles. He spent his first seven big league campaigns with the A's.
He expected to leave his share of tickets for friends in the Bay Area during this four-game series against the Giants.
``It's still special,'' Tejada said of coming back. ``When I come here, I still have a lot of memories, even if we're not playing Oakland. That will be great (to see the fans). I will be happy.''
When he admitted his incorrect age - telling his boss he wanted to rid himself of a burden - Tejada approached general manager Ed Wade with the truth and asked to change his birth date in future media guides and for other paperwork and records. Tejada went to the Astros after being shown a copy of his birth certificate during an interview with ESPN on April 15.
Tejada was actually 19 when he signed out of Bani, Dominican Republic. At the time, he said, a local coach encouraged him to say he was 17.
``I don't have any hard feelings,'' Tejada told reporters in Spanish. ``That's your job. I can't be mad at the media. If you change your age, it's not going to make you a better hitter. You still have to work very hard. It doesn't mean you're going to kill the league.''
Tejada entered Monday's game batting .342 with five home runs and 27 RBIs, having hit safely in 14 of his last 15 games - though he acknowledges he's still trying to learn many of the NL pitchers.
``All is great. We're playing great,'' said Tejada, who already has a 10-game hitting streak under his belt this year. ``I know it's hard to change leagues, but my adjustment right now is just trying to get hits. I don't go to the plate and try to kill the ball. I take a lot of pitches. There are good pitchers in this league.''
Astros manager Cecil Cooper was monitoring Tejada before the game because both his wrists were sore after he got hit by pitches in a three-game sweep of the Dodgers in Los Angeles over the weekend.
``He wants to keep trucking,'' the skipper said.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
