Tony Peña Jr.
Tony Francisco Peña (born March 23, 1981) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. Peña played shortstop until the 2009 season, when he converted to pitching.[1]
| Tony Peña Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher / Shortstop | |
| Born: March 23, 1981 Santiago, Dominican Republic | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 13, 2006, for the Atlanta Braves | |
| Last appearance | |
| July 12, 2009, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .228 |
| Home runs | 4 |
| Runs batted in | 66 |
| Win–loss record | 0–0 |
| Earned run average | 0.00 |
| Strikeouts | 1 |
| Teams | |
| As player
As coach | |
Medals | |
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When he retired from playing, Peña moved on to coaching. He is currently the manager for the Kansas City Royals' Single-A affiliate, the Columbia Fireflies.
Family
Peña is the son of Tony Peña and the brother of Francisco Peña. His uncle, Ramón Peña, pitched for the Detroit Tigers in 1989.
Playing career
Atlanta Braves
A non-drafted free agent, Peña was signed on July 21, 1999 by the Atlanta Braves.[2] He made his big league debut with Atlanta on April 13, 2006. His first Major League hit came on April 21 at Washington against the Nationals. He appeared in 40 games for the Braves, batting .227 with a home run and three RBIs in 44 at-bats.[1]
Kansas City Royals
On March 23, 2007, Peña was traded to Kansas City for pitching prospect Erik Cordier.[3] In Peña's first game as a Royal, he hit two triples.[1] Peña finished 2007, his first full season, at .267/.284/.356 with two homers and 47 RBIs. He also hit seven triples and stole five bases.[1]
Pena lost his job as a regular starter in the middle of 2008. From June through the end of 2008, Pena mainly entered games as a defensive replacement. Pena made his major league pitching debut on July 21, performing mop-up duty in a 19–4 blowout loss to the Detroit Tigers. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout of Iván Rodríguez.[4] Pena made 75 plate appearances in 46 games through the last four months of the 2008 season and was designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals on July 16, 2009.[5]
San Francisco Giants
On December 11, 2009, Peña, signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants to try to be a pitcher and was placed with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Giants' AA team.[6]
Boston Red Sox
On January 5, 2011, he signed a minor-league deal with the Boston Red Sox.[7]
Vaqueros Laguna
Pena was released by the Vaqueros Laguna on June 16, 2016.
Saraperos de Saltillo
On June 19, 2016, Peña signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican Baseball League.
Olmecas de Tabasco
On May 19, 2017, Peña was released by the Olmecas de Tabasco of the Mexican Baseball League.[8] He ultimately would not appear in another professional baseball game.
Second stint with Royals
On May 30, 2017, Peña signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals.[9]
Coaching career
Peña managed the AZL Royals during the 2019 season.
He was named the bench coach of the Omaha Storm Chasers prior to the 2020 season which ultimately was not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2021, it was announced that he would join the Royals' big league coaching staff.[10]
On January 14, 2022, Peña was announced as the manager of the Columbia Fireflies.[11]
References
- "Notes: Tony Peña at www.retrosheet.org".
- "Royals acquire shortstop Tony Pena Jr. from Atlanta". MLB.com. March 23, 2007. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
- Bowman, Mark (March 23, 2007). "Braves get Royals' Cordier for Pena". MLB.com. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
- Kaegal, Dick (July 22, 2008). "Royals subjected to Tigers' revenge". MLB.com. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
- Kaegal, Dick (July 16, 2009). "Betancourt, Gordon coming off DL". MLB.com. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
- Gonzalez, Alden (December 11, 2009). "Giants ink righty Pena to Minors deal". MLB.com. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
- Browne, Ian (January 5, 2011). "Boston adds to catching depth with waiver claim". MLB.com. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
- "Stats". milb.com.
- "Top MLB Prospects, Scouting Reports, Analysis".
- "Royals announce coaching staff for 2021 season". MLB.com. January 22, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
- Kocsis Jr, John (January 14, 2022). "Fireflies 2022 Coaching Staff Announced". MiLB.com. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)