Ramiro Peña Gauna (born July 18, 1985) is a Mexican professional

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 t ...

infielder for the Sultanes de Monterrey in the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five t ...

. He is also signed to the

Tomateros de Culiacán The Tomateros de Culiacán ( en, Culiacán Tomato Growers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. The ''Tomateros'' have won thirteen league titles and two Caribbean World Series in and . The ...

of the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule ru ...

, where he plays during the winter. He previously played in

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) for the

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

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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

, and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

Professional career

New York Yankees

Peña was signed by the

out of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

in 2005. He played for the

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

in the Class-A Advanced Florida State League and

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the ...

of the Class-AA Eastern League that season and in 2006. He played for Trenton in 2007 and 2008, and was selected to participate in the 2008 All-Star Futures Game. In 2009, Peña made the Yankees Opening Day roster, beating out Ángel Berroa to be the

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

. He made his major league debut on April 6, 2009, appearing in the game as a pinch runner. On April 9 he got a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

in his first major league at bat, off Chris Ray of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. On April 14 against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

, Pena started his first career game at

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, going 0 for 3 with a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

. On April 30, Peña got his first career

run batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

in the bottom of the 8th inning against

Justin Speier Justin James Speier (born November 6, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He attended Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona. Upon graduation from Brophy Prep, Speier attended the University ...

of the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 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 h ...

by hitting a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

down the right field line. With the acquisition of

Eric Hinske Eric Scott Hinske (born August 5, 1977) is an American professional baseball coach and retired outfielder and first baseman who is currently the assistant hitting coach for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). Hinske played in the ...

on June 29, 2009, Peña was optioned to the Triple-A

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

of the International League to receive regular at-bats and learn to play in the outfield. Manager

Joe Girardi Joseph Elliott Girardi (born October 14, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Girardi played the catcher position for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and S ...

said he expected Peña to be back with the Yankees later in the season. He was recalled to the Yankees on August 7. Peña was recalled in September, and he hit his first major league home run on September 28, 2009, off of Kansas City Royals pitcher

Luke Hochevar Luke Anthony Hochevar (; born September 15, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played college baseball at the University of Tennessee, and played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals from 2007 thro ...

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

. Peña was a member of the Yankees

2009 World Series The 2009 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2009 season. As the 105th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff contested between the Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the National Leag ...

championship team which defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in 6 games. Peña was optioned to Triple-A's Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees to start the 2011 season. On May 6, he was recalled to the majors after

Eric Chavez Eric Cesar Chavez (born December 7, 1977) is an American professional baseball coach and former third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (1998–2010), New York Yankees (2011–2012), and Arizona Diamondb ...

was placed on the disabled list. On July 18, 2011, Peña required an emergency appendectomy. Ramiro was recalled on July 25, 2012, to replace

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

on the roster after Rodriguez sustained a fractured left pinkie during a game in Seattle. He was optioned back to Triple-A on August 1, 2012, after the Yankees acquired

Casey McGehee Casey Michael McGehee (born October 12, 1982) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in NPB for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and Yomiuri Giants, and also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, ...

from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on September 1.

Atlanta Braves

After the 2012 season, Peña became a

free agent 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 ...

. He signed a one-year contract worth $550,000 with the

. On June 20, 2013, Peña was placed on the disabled list for right shoulder pain; it was later revealed that he would require right shoulder surgery, ending his season. After the season, Peña signed a one-year deal with the Braves, avoiding arbitration. Peña was designated for assignment by the Braves on November 19, 2014. He was outrighted to the Triple-A

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

on November 27, 2014. Pena refused the assignment and elected for free agency.

San Diego Padres

Peña signed a minor league deal with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

on January 26, 2015. He played for the

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University Park, which opened ...

, the Padres' Triple-A affiliate.

San Francisco Giants

On December 13, 2015, Peña signed a minor league deal with the

. On June 10, 2016, the Giants purchased Peña's contract to replace the injured Kelby Tomlinson. Peña batted .299 in 30 games for the Giants starting games at second base, third base and shortstop. Peña was designated for assignment on July 30, 2016 when Hunter Pence was activated from the DL.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

On January 30, 2017, Peña signed with the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

Sultanes de Monterrey

On February 26, 2018, Peña signed with the Sultanes de Monterrey of the

. After the 2018 season, he played for

of the

(LMP). After the 2019 season, he played for Tomateros of the LMP. He has also played for Mexico in the

2020 Caribbean Series The 2020 Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was the 62nd edition of the international competition featuring the champions of the Colombian Professional Baseball League, Dominican Professional Baseball League, Mexican Pacific League, Panamanian P ...

. In 2020, he did not play a game because of the cancellation of the Mexican League season due to 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 identi ...

. After the 2020 season, he played for Tomateros of the LMP. He also played for Mexico in the 2021 Caribbean Series.

International career

Peña was selected to play for the Mexico national team in the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike t ...

and 2019 exhibition games against Japan.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pena, Ramiro 1985 births Living people Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Nuevo León El Paso Chihuahuas players Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen Major League Baseball players from Mexico Mexican expatriate baseball players in Japan Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball second basemen Mexican League baseball shortstops National baseball team players New York Yankees players Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Sportspeople from Monterrey Sultanes de Monterrey players Tampa Yankees players Tomateros de Culiacán players Trenton Thunder players 2013 World Baseball Classic players Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic baseball players of Mexico