Jeremy Joan Peña (born September 22, 1997) is a

Dominican-American Dominican Americans ( es, domínico-americanos, ) are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Dominican Republic. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Dominican descent or to someone who has migrated to the United Stat ...

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He attended the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the Black Bears. The Astros selected Peña in the third round of the 2018 MLB draft, and he made his MLB debut in 2022. In 2022, Peña became the first rookie shortstop to win a

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

and the first to hit a

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

in the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

. During the Astros' 2022 championship run, Peña was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of both the

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...

(ALCS) and

(WS), becoming the first

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL) player to earn both awards in the same year. He was the youngest

position player In baseball, a position player is a player who on defense plays as an infielder, outfielder, or catcher. In Major League Baseball (since 1973 in the American League and since 2022 in the National League), there is also a designated hitter, who ba ...

to win the

World Series MVP The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the MLB postseason. The aw ...

award.

Early life and amateur career

Jeremy Peña was born and raised in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

, before he and his family moved to

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, when he was nine years old. His father, Gerónimo, was an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

(MLB) who played for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

from 1990 to 1996. Jeremy attended

Classical High School Classical High School, founded in 1843, is a public magnet school in the Providence School District, in Providence, Rhode Island. It was originally an all-male school but has since become co-ed. Classical's motto is ''Certare, Petere, Reperire, ...

in Providence, playing

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and running

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

and cross country. In 2014, his junior year, he batted .352. As a senior in 2015, he hit .390 with two home runs. Following his senior year, he was selected by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

in the 39th round of the

2015 MLB draft Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

, but he did not sign, Instead, he enrolled with the

where he played

. As a freshman at Maine in 2016, Peña started and played in 55 games, batting .283 with one home run, 15 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases, earning a spot on the

America East Conference The America East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I founded in 1979, whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference has nine core members including eight public research u ...

All-Rookie Team. That summer, he played in the

New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...

with the Plymouth Pilgrims. In 2017, Peña's sophomore year, he started 54 games and hit .319 with six home runs and 32 RBIs. Following the season, he played in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

with the

Chatham Anglers The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

, earning All-Star honors. In 2018, as a junior, he once again started 54 games, hitting .308/.393/.469 with five home runs, 28 RBIs, and ten stolen bases, earning American East Second-Team honors.

Professional career

Minor leagues

The

selected Peña in the third round of the 2018 MLB draft. Peña signed with Houston and made his professional debut with the

Tri-City ValleyCats The Tri-City ValleyCats (often shortened to Cats) are a professional independent baseball team based in Troy, New York. The Tri-City name refers to the three nearby cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy which make up New York State's Capital D ...

of the

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

New York-Penn League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, batting .250 with one home run and ten RBIs over 36 games, earning All-Star honors. In 2019, Peña began the year with the

Quad Cities River Bandits The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, one ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

, with whom he was named an All-Star, before being promoted to the

Fayetteville Woodpeckers The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and play their home games at Segra Stadium. From 2017 to ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

in June. Over 109 games between the two teams, he slashed .303/.385/.440 with seven home runs, 54 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases. After the season, he played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

with the

Peoria Javelinas The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the Sa ...

. Peña did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On April 21, 2021, it was announced that Peña would undergo surgery on his left wrist, causing him to miss part of the season. He was activated off the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

in late August, and was assigned to the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metr ...

of the

Triple-A West The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

. Over 30 games, he slashed .287/.346/.598 with ten home runs and 19 RBIs. Upon conclusion of the 2021–22

Dominican Professional Baseball League Dominican may refer to: * Someone or something from or related to the Dominican Republic ( , stress on the "mi"), on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles, in the Caribbean ** People of the Dominican Republic ** Demographics of the Dom ...

season, Peña was awarded a second consecutive Gold Glove at shortstop. In 30 games, he produced a .970 fielding percentage, 5.7 range factor, nine double plays turned along with five errors.

Houston Astros

On November 19, 2021, the

Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division, having moved to the div ...

selected Peña's contract and added him to their 40-man roster. Following the departure of incumbent shortstop

Carlos Correa Carlos Javier Correa Oppenheimer Jr. (born September 22, 1994) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, who selected him first overall in the ...

via

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, Peña was named starting shortstop during 2022

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. He made his major league debut on

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

versus the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. On April 8, 2022, Peña hit his first major league home run while his parents were being interviewed during the broadcast. On April 24, he hit his first career

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not ...

in the bottom of the 10th

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

versus the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, helping lead the Astros to an 8–7 win. On May 17, Peña hit the third of five Astros home runs in the second inning versus starter

Nathan Eovaldi Nathan Edward Eovaldi ( ; born February 13, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Ra ...

of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, tying the major league record for home runs hit by a team in one inning as the Astros rolled to a 13–4 victory. On June 13, 2022, Peña sustained a left thumb injury versus the Texas Rangers and was placed on the 10-day injured list. The Astros activated him on June 26. On July 3, Peña produced his both first career four-hit and multi-homer game, as well as his second career walk-off home run, sealing a 4–2 win over the Angels. Over the 2022 regular season, Peña batted .253./289/.426 with 132 hits, 22 home runs, 63 RBIs, 72 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, 22 walks, 135 strikeouts, and had the lowest walk/strikeout ratio in the majors (0.16). He tied Correa for the franchise rookie record for most home runs by a shortstop. Peña also ranked second in home runs, fourth in hits, and fifth in runs scored and RBIs among major league rookies. He had the fastest sprint speed on the Astros, at 29.4 feet per second. On defense, Peña ranked second in the

(AL) in Defensive

Wins Above Replacement Wins Above Replacement or Wins Above Replacement Player, commonly abbreviated to WAR or WARP, is a non-standardized sabermetric baseball statistic developed to sum up "a player's total contributions to his team". A player's WAR value is claimed to ...

(2.4, dWAR), third in the AL in errors committed (19), and third among AL shortstops in total zone runs (8). He played 134 games at shortstop, starting 132 of them. He was graded 15 defensive runs better than “average” at shortstop. Making his

postseason The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

debut in the

American League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...

(ALDS), Peña singled to precede a

Yordan Álvarez Yordan Ruben Álvarez (born June 27, 1997) is a Cuban professional baseball designated hitter and left fielder for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019 for the Astros. Nicknamed "Air Yordan", Álvarez ...

game-winning home run in both of the first two games. The third game—which featured a postsesason-record 17 scoreless innings—was decided by Peña's home run in the top of the 18th inning off

Penn Murfee William Penn Murfee (born May 2, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022. Career Amateur career Murfee attended Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashvill ...

. His first career home run on the postseason stage, it thus concluded the longest

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

game in postseason history, 1–0, and clinched an ALDS sweep for Houston. Peña was named the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

(MVP) of the

(ALCS), hitting .353 with two home runs in the Astros' four-game sweep of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. In Game 5 of the

, he homered off

Noah Syndergaard Noah Seth Syndergaard (born August 29, 1992), nicknamed "Thor", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels an ...

to become the first rookie shortstop to hit a home run in World Series play. The Astros won the World Series in six games, and Peña became the third rookie ever to be named the

. He also become the first American League (AL) player–and ninth overall–to win both LCS and WS MVP honors in the same year.

Awards and honors

Although he finished fifth in the AL Rookie of the Year (ROY) rankings, Peña was awarded the AL 2022

for his play at shortstop. He became the first Astros rookie to win a Gold Glove, and the first rookie ever to win a Gold Glove at shortstop in MLB history. The

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

chapter of the

Baseball Writers' Association of America The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908, and is known fo ...

(BBWAA) named Peña the Astros' Rookie of the Year. On November 30, 2022, Peña was awarded the Key to the City of Providence in a 90-minute ceremony attended by officials including Rhode Island Governor

Dan McKee Daniel James McKee (born June 16, 1951) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 76th governor of Rhode Island since March 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Rhode Island's 69th lieutenant governor from 2015 to ...

and Mayor

Jorge Elorza Jorge O. Elorza (born November 24, 1976) is an American law professor and mayor of Providence, Rhode Island. He defeated former mayor Buddy Cianci in the 2014 mayoral election and on January 5, 2015, was sworn in as mayor of the city. Early lif ...

References

;Footnotes ;Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peña, Jeremy 1997 births Living people Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Baseball players from Providence, Rhode Island Major League Baseball shortstops Houston Astros players Maine Black Bears baseball players Chatham Anglers players Tri-City ValleyCats players Quad Cities River Bandits players Fayetteville Woodpeckers players Sugar Land Skeeters players Peoria Javelinas players Estrellas Orientales players Gold Glove Award winners American League Championship Series MVPs World Series Most Valuable Player Award winners

Early life and amateur career

Professional career

Minor leagues

Houston Astros

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links