Tony Peña
Antonio Francisco Peña Padilla (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtoni ˈpeɲa]; born 4 June 1957) is a Dominican former professional baseball player, manager and coach.[1] He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Houston Astros.[1] After his playing career, Peña was the manager of the Kansas City Royals between 2002 and 2005. He was most recently the first base coach for the New York Yankees. A four-time Gold Glove Award winner, Peña was known for his defensive abilities as well as his unorthodox squat behind home plate.[2]
For other people named Tony Peña, see Tony Peña (disambiguation).Tony Peña
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107
708
198–285
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2016
Playing career[edit]
Pittsburgh Pirates[edit]
In 1975, Peña attended a tryout camp held by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Dominican Republic and was signed as an amateur free agent for $4,000.[3] Originally an outfielder, he didn't start playing as a catcher until 1977 while playing in the minor leagues.[2] As a catcher, Peña adopted an unorthodox squat behind the plate when there were no runners on base, extending his left leg straight out while squatting on his right leg.[4] Similar stances are still being adopted by current players. He did this in order to help his pitchers keep their pitches low in the strike zone.[5]
In 1979, Peña hit for a .313 batting average along with 34 home runs and 97 runs batted in for the Buffalo Bisons. The following year, he posted a .329 batting average and .367 on-base percentage with the Portland Beavers before making his major league debut at the age of 23 that September.[6] In the offseason, he played for Águilas Cibaeñas in the Dominican Professional Baseball League and won the Rookie of the Year award.[7]
In 1981, his path to the majors was initially less clear. He was stuck behind Ed Ott and Steve Nicosia, and his English was poor. However, the Pirates traded Ott on 1 April and Peña platooned alongside Nicosia before taking the full-time catching job.[6] He hit an impressive .300 batting average in 66 games and finished in sixth place in the 1981 National League Rookie of the Year Award.[8][9]
Peña further cemented his place as the Pirates' starting catcher that offseason by batting .313 in the Dominican Republic winter league baseball to earn MVP honors.[7] He also hit .431 with two home runs and 12 RBl in spring training.[6] In 1982, he took over as the Pirates full-time catcher and had a .340 batting average on the first of July, helping him earn a spot as a reserve for the National League team in the 1982 All-Star Game.[10][11] He finished the year with a .296 batting average.[12] While he committed 16 errors, he finished second among National League catchers in assists and third in putouts and caught stealing percentage.[13] He again won MVP honors in the Dominican Professional Baseball League.[7]
Peña had one of his best seasons in 1983, posting career-highs with a .301 batting average and 15 home runs as the Pirates improved to finish in second place in the National League Eastern Division.[14] He led National League catchers with 976 putouts and finished second to Gary Carter with a .992 fielding percentage, earning him his first Gold Glove Award.[15][16] Peña also finished 12th in voting for the 1983 National League Most Valuable Player Award.[17]
The Pirates entered into a period of decline, finishing in last place for three consecutive years between 1984 and 1986 however, Peña still led National League catchers in assists, putouts and baserunners caught stealing in 1984.[18] He was named an All-Star and won a Gold Glove that season.[19][16]
In 1985, he again led the league in assists and baserunners caught stealing.[20] Peña was again selected to the All-Star Game and won another Gold Glove.[21][16] When Peña broke the 100 assists barrier in 1985, he joined Johnny Bench, Jim Sundberg and Gary Carter as the only major league catchers to have more than 100 assists in a season since the end of the Second World War.[22]
In a 1986 poll of major league managers, Peña was selected as the best throwing catcher in the major leagues.[23] He was an All-Star for the third season in a row in 1986.[24] In November 1986, Peña participated in the MLB Japan All-Star Series. He led a team of major league All-Stars to victory over a team of Japanese All-Stars and was chosen as the MVP of the American team.[25] Before the start of the following season, with Peña nearing the end of his contract, the Pirates made a decision to trade him rather than lose him through free agency.[26]
St. Louis Cardinals[edit]
On 1 April, 1987, Peña was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Andy Van Slyke and Mike LaValliere.[27][28] He was also signed to a two-year contract extension.[29] Three games into his Cardinals' career, he suffered a broken left thumb in a game against his former team, the Pirates.[30] He missed more than a month and returned to post a career-low .214 batting average, including a .183 average in the second half.[31][32] Nevertheless, the Cardinals won the National League Eastern Division crown with Peña rebounding to post a .381 batting average in the 1987 National League Championship Series as, the Cardinals defeated the San Francisco Giants.[33] In the 1987 World Series against the Minnesota Twins he hit .409 with four RBI as the Cardinals lost in a seven-game series.[29]
In 1988, Peña recovered with a .263 batting average along with 10 home runs and 51 runs batted in.[1] He also led National League catchers with a .994 fielding percentage and was second in putouts and third in assists.[34] He hit .259 with four home runs and 37 RBI in 1989. He earned his fifth All-Star selection[35][36] and led the league's catchers with a .997 fielding percentage, committing only two errors in 134 games.[37][38]
Boston Red Sox[edit]
In November 1989, Peña was granted free agency and signed a three-year, $6.4 million contract with the Boston Red Sox.[38] In 1990, he led American League catchers in games played, range factor, and putouts, while finishing second in assists and fielding percentage.[39] He also hit .263 with seven home runs and 56 RBI, coming in 21st place in the American League MVP voting that year.[40] Amid a September skid that nearly cost the Red Sox the division, Peña called the team quitters and threw a folding chair in the clubhouse in an apparent attempt to fire up his teammates. Several players were offended by this and blamed it on his English language skills.[41][42]
On 18 September, In Game 3 of the 1990 American League Championship Series, Peña's two defensive lapses against the Oakland Athletics allowed three runs and cost the Red Sox the game.[43] He was also behind the plate in Game 4 when Boston starter Roger Clemens was ejected in the second inning for arguing balls and strikes with the home plate umpire.[44]
In 1991, Peña led American League catchers in defensive games, putouts, double plays, runners caught stealing, and range factor.[45] His performance earned him a Gold Glove Award, making him one of only five players at the time to win the award in both the American and National Leagues.[46][47] He led AL catchers in putouts and double plays in 1992.[48] After the season, he signed a one-year extension with Boston.[49]
Peña struggled in 1993, hitting just .181 in 126 games. He lost playing time to backup catchers Bob Melvin and John Flaherty.[50][51][52] On 23 May, Peña got his 1,500th career hit in a game against the New York Yankees.[53]
Personal life[edit]
Peña's mother, Rosalia, was a former star softball player in the Dominican Republic. She taught him and his brothers how to play baseball.[3]
Peña is married to Amaris and they have three children. He is the father of pitcher Tony Peña Jr., and catcher Francisco Peña.[93][94] Peña's daughter, Jennifer Amaris, won Miss RD USA 2007 and represented the Dominican Community in the US in Miss Dominican Republic 2008 and came in sixth place.[95] His brother, Ramón Peña, pitched with the Detroit Tigers organization.
In May 2005, Peña was called to testify in divorce court, where it was revealed that he had an affair with a neighbor. During this time, he decided to resign as manager of the Kansas City Royals.[96]