Jeremy Peña

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Jeremy Joan Peña

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Biographical Information[edit]

Jeremy Peña is the son of Gerónimo Peña. He became the Houston Astros' starting shortstop seemingly by default in 2022 when the Astros failed to re-sign free agent Carlos Correa. He had been a 3rd round pick by Houston in the 2018 amateur draft; even though he was born in the Dominican Republic, he had attended both high school and college in the United States, making him subject to the draft, both times in institutions better known for their academic strength than their baseball prowess. He was first drafted in the 39th round by the Atlanta Braves in the 2015 amateur draft coming out of Classical High School in Providence, RI, after which he went to the University of Maine. He confirmed his status as a top prospect with a very good second season in the Astros' system in 2019, when he batted .303/.385/.440 in 109 games between the Quad Cities River Bandits and Fayetteville Woodpeckers. He then had to sit out the 2020 season when the minor leagues were shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021 he was limited to 30 games for the AAA Sugar Land Skeeters (and 7 more on rehabilitation outing), explaining why he was completely under the radar by the time spring training rolled around in 2022.

He hit his first big league homer in his second game, on April 8th, off Mike Mayers of the Los Angeles Angels. Coincidentally, his parent were being interviewed live on AppleTV's broadcast of the game when he came up, making for an unforgettable television moment. He had three hits in that game, after being shut out in his major league debut the day before. His first major league hit had come off Reid Detmers earlier in the contest. On April 24th, he hit the first walk-off homer of his career, connecting off Jordan Romano of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 10th inning with the designated runner on second base to give Houston an 8-7 win. He had a great game on July 3rd against the Angels when he went 4 for 5 and belted two homers, the second one a walk-off shot off Ryan Tepera that gave Houston a 4-2 win. He ended up hitting .253 in 156 games, with 72 runs, 20 doubles, 22 homers and 63 RBIs, for an OPS+ of 101. He was named the shortstop on the 2022 Topps All-Star Rookie Team, won the Gold Glove at the position and finished 5th in the voting for the 2022 American League Rookie of the Year Award. And that's not even counting the postseason, when he had a veritable coming-out party as he was named MVP of both the 2022 ALCS and 2022 World Series as the Astros won the second title in their history, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies in the Fall Classic. He went 6 for 17 with 2 homers in the ALCS and 10 for 25 in the World Series, and that's not even counting his homer in Game 3 of the Division Series against the Seattle Mariners on October 15th, which broke a scoreless tie in the 18th inning to give Houston a 1-0 win.

He was the starting shortstop for the Dominican Republic national team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, on a team that many observes called one of the greatest baseball teams ever assembled.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Anthony Castrovince: "Super shortstop Peña makes history as World Series MVP: Youngster becomes first rookie position player to win Fall Classic honor", mlb.com, November 6, 2022. [1]
  • Michael Clair: "How the skinny New England kid became the World Series MVP", mlb.com, November 13, 2022. [2]
  • Thomas Harrigan: "Does this postseason star have an offensive breakout in store?", mlb.com, March 11, 2023. [3]
  • Bryan Hoch: "Peña's huge night adds new chapter to superb rookie season: Astros' young star becomes 1st rookie to homer in WS game as shortstop", mlb.com, November 4, 2022. [4]
  • Daniel Kramer: "Peña flashing poise as Astros' latest October star ", mlb.com, October 20, 2022. [5]
  • Daniel Kramer: "Peña's clutch HR caps ALCS MVP performance: Rookie continues hot hitting to erase Yankees' early Game 4 lead", mlb.com, October 24, 2022. [6]
  • Gabe Lacques (USA Today): "'This postseason has been his': With every huge home run, ALCS MVP Jeremy Peña emerges as Astros' heartbeat", Yahoo! News, October 25, 2022. [7]
  • Brian McTaggart: "Peña's first homer interrupts parents' interview", mlb.com, April 9, 2022. [8]
  • Brian McTaggart: "Postseason Peña 2.0 now available in flashy leather", mlb.com, October 12, 2023. [9]
  • Bob Nightengale (USA Today): "Rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña making the Astros forget all about Carlos Correa", Yahoo! Sports, May 8, 2022. [10]

Related Sites[edit]