Tony Pena

Note: This page links to Tony Pena, the All-Star catcher and manager. For his son, a shortstop who made his big league debut in 2006, click here. Or for the unrelated relief pitcher Tony Pena who also made his debut in 2006, click here.

Antonio Francisco Pena Padilla

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 181 lb.

• Debut September 1, 1980
• Final Game September 28, 1997
• Born June 4, 1957 in Monte Cristi, Monte Cristi, D.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

Tony Pena was known for his unique style of catching. He would sit on the ground with one knee tucked to the side while his other leg was straight out to the other side. He could even throw out would-be base stealers from this position with an incredibly strong arm. He ended his career with 1,950 games behind the plate, fourth most of all catchers.

After his career ended, he joined the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros as a minor league manager, guiding the 1998 AZL White Sox and the 1999-2001 New Orleans Zephyrs. After spending a little more than a month as Astros bench coach, he became manager of the Kansas City Royals in May 2002. He was widely praised for leading the Royals to a rare winning season in 2003, winning the American League Manager of the Year Award, but the club sunk back into mediocrity in 2004. He left the Royals in frustration early in 2005, leaving the team scrambling to find a replacement, and joined the New York Yankees as a coach in 2006. He was one of three men on the short list to replace Joe Torre as Yankees manager after the 2007 season, along with Don Mattingly and Joe Girardi, but the job went to Girardi and Pena returned to coaching, staying for the duration of Girardi's tenure, until the end of the 2017 season.

Pena's son Tony reached the majors in 2006 with the Atlanta Braves and became the Royals' starting shortstop in 2007. Another son, Francisco Peña, a catcher like Tony, reached the big leagues in 2014. Pena's brother Ramon Pena also played briefly for the Detroit Tigers in 1989. His nephew Rudy Pena reached AA.

He was elected to the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame as part of its 2012 class. He managed the Dominican national team to a perfect record in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, after the team failed to make it out of the first round in 2009; it was the first non-Japanese team to win a World Baseball Classic. He was elected to the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016; he had hit .270/?/.374 in 38 Caribbean Series games, winning two Caribbean Series titles in eight Series.

Berman Nickname

Tony "Jala" Pena

Notable Achievements

• 1981 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
• 5-time NL All-Star (1982, 1984-1986 & 1989)
• 4-time Gold Glove Winner (1983-1985/NL & 1991/AL)
• AL Manager of the Year Award (2003)

Preceded by John Mizerock

Kansas City Royals Manager 2002-2005

Succeeded by Bob Schaefer

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1998	AZL White Sox	Arizona League	20-34	8th	Chicago White Sox	none
1999	New Orleans Zephyrs	International League	55-96	16th	Houston Astros
2000	New Orleans Zephyrs	International League	68-74	10th	Houston Astros
2001	New Orleans Zephyrs	International League	82-57	2nd	Houston Astros	League Co-Champs
2002	Kansas City Royals	American League	49-77	4th	Kansas City Royals		replaced John Mizerock (5-8) on May 15
2003	Kansas City Royals	American League	83-79	3rd	Kansas City Royals
2004	Kansas City Royals	American League	58-104	5th	Kansas City Royals
2005	Kansas City Royals	American League	8-25	--	Kansas City Royals		replaced by Bob Schaefer on May 11

Related Sites

• Tony Peña at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Manager page