The thumb injury has greatly affected Teixeira's swing, sapping power away from the slugger and lowering his batting average -- he hit .232 over the months of September and October.
The Yankees tried to get Teixeira as much rest as possible, and until Wednesday, the general public was only aware of that rehabilitation method. Prior to Game 1 of the American League Division Series in Minnesota, Yankees manager Joe Girardi told reporters that Teixeira also had a cortisone shot in his thumb on Sept. 17.
"After he got the shot, he seemed to start swinging the bat a lot better," Girardi said. "His hand was feeling better."
That's a very true statement from Girardi. Even though Teixeira hit .232 over the final month, in the nine games after his cortisone shot, he hit .297 and blasted all three of his September home runs. He also drove in seven of his 12 runs after the injection.
Teixeira says that he played through the pain for a month, and could have continued to do so. But he admitted the cortisone shot helped, "a little bit."
While Girardi said that he was encouraged with the progress in Teixeira's swing after the injection, he's still worried about the first baseman re-injuring himself in the field.
"The danger part for him is when he dives after a ground ball. His instincts are always going to tell him to dive. You hope that it doesn't happen a whole lot here."
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