6-time All-Star former Major League Baseball MVP Miguel Tejada named manager of Karachi Monarchs

KARACHI: Baseball United, the first professional baseball league focused on the Middle East and Indian subcontinent, has announced that former Major League Baseball MVP and All-Star Miguel Tejada will become the first manager of the Karachi Monarchs.

Tejada will team up with fellow Dominican Republic baseball legend, Adrian Beltre, who was named the team’s honorary general manager last week.

The Karachi Monarchs are the first professional baseball franchise in the history of Pakistan and the second announced by Baseball United. The Monarchs will compete in Baseball United’s Dubai Showcase in November alongside the Mumbai Cobras, and two additional franchises that will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Cobras and Monarchs are expected to generate significant fanfare, building on decades of sports rivalries between India and Pakistan. The last cricket match between India and Pakistan was watched by more than 230 million people around the world.

“The leadership we are putting together around our Baseball United stacks up against any professional sports league in the world,” said Kash Shaikh, president, CEO and co-owner of Baseball United. “These are elite baseball minds and exceptional clubhouse leaders. Miguel Tejada fits that mold. He’s not only a former All-Star and one of the greatest Dominican players in history, but he’s someone who’s been through hardship, made mistakes, and recovered from them. When you have experienced the high highs and the low lows, you build a humility and resilience that enables you to succeed. I am looking forward to seeing Miguel in the dugout with Karachi across his chest.”

Tejada played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball and was the 2002 American League Most Valuable Player. He