Antonio Francisco Peña Padilla (; born June 4, 1957) is a Dominican former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

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 ...

player,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He played as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

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) ...

for the

Pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

, Cardinals, Red Sox,

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, White Sox, and Astros. After his playing career, Peña was the manager of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

between 2002 and 2005. He was most recently the first base coach 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 o ...

. A four-time Gold Glove Award winner, Peña was known for his defensive abilities as well as his unorthodox squat behind home plate.

Playing career

Peña was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur

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 ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. Originally an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

, he didn't start playing as a catcher until 1977 while playing in the minor leagues. As a catcher, Peña adopted an unorthodox squat behind the plate when there were no

runners Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

on base, extending his left leg straight out while squatting on his right leg. He did this in order to help his

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

s keep their pitches low in the strike zone. In 1979 while playing for the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

, Peña hit for a .313 batting average along with 34

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 is ...

s and 97

runs 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 ba ...

. The following year with the Portland Beavers, he posted a .323 batting average with a .367

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

before making his major league debut at the age of 23 with the Pirates on September 1, 1980. In

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major off ...

, Peña platooned alongside Steve Nicosia, hitting for an impressive .300 batting average in 66 games and finished in sixth place in the 1981

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

Rookie of the Year Award. In

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

, 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. He finished the year with a .296 batting average. While he committed 16 errors, he finished second among National League catchers in assists and third in putouts and caught stealing percentage. 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. He led National League catchers with 976 putouts and finished second to

Gary Carter Gary Edmund Carter (April 8, 1954 – February 16, 2012) was an American professional baseball catcher whose 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career was spent primarily with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets. Nicknamed "the Kid" for his ...

with a .992 fielding percentage, earning him his first Gold Glove Award. Peña also finished 12th in voting for the 1983 National League Most Valuable Player Award. After the 1983 season, the Pirates went into a period of decline, finishing in last place for three consecutive years between 1984 and 1986. Although his offensive statistics tapered off, Peña continued to be productive defensively during this period, leading National League catchers in assists, putouts and baserunners caught stealing in 1984 and, again leading the league in assists and baserunners caught stealing in 1985, winning two more Gold Glove Awards and two more All-Star selections in the process. When Peña broke the 100 assists barrier in 1985, he joined

Johnny Bench John Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire Major League Baseball career, which lasted from through , with the Cincinnati Reds, primarily as a catcher. Bench was the leader of t ...

, 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. In a 1986 poll of major league managers, Peña was selected as the best throwing catcher in the major leagues. In November 1986, Peña led a team of major league All-Stars to victory over a team of Japanese All-Stars and, was chosen as the most valuable player of the American team. 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. On April 1, 1987, Peña was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Andy Van Slyke and Mike LaValliere. Three games into his Cardinals' career, he suffered a broken left thumb in a game against his former team, the Pirates. He missed more than a month and returned to post a career-low batting average of .214. 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 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 ...

. In the

1987 World Series The 1987 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1987 season. The 84th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Minnesota Twins and the Nat ...

against the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...

he produced nine hits with 4 runs batted in (RBI) as the Cardinals lost in a seven-game series. In 1988, Peña recovered with a .263 batting average along with 10 home runs and 51 runs batted in. He also led National League catchers with a .994 fielding percentage and was second in putouts and third in assists. In 1989, he earned his fifth All-Star selection and, once again led the league's catchers with a .997 fielding percentage, committing only two errors in 134 games. CLE1995H17PENAWS

In November 1989, Peña was granted free agency and signed a contract to play for the Boston Red Sox. With the Red Sox in 1990, he led

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 ...

catchers in

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Baseball ...

, range factor, putouts and finished second in assists and in fielding percentage. His performance earned him the Gold Glove Award, making him only the second catcher after Bob Boone to earn a Gold Glove in both the American and National Leagues. The Red Sox won the

American League Eastern Division The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

pennant before eventually losing to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

in the 1990 American League Championship Series. In October 1993, Peña again filed for free agency and signed to play for the Cleveland Indians. Although his batting statistics weren't as strong as his earlier career, Peña was still valued for his strong defensive skills as a catcher. He proved invaluable for the Indians in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson Ma ...

as a substitute for the injury-prone starting catcher, Sandy Alomar Jr., while posting a .296 batting average with a .341

. Peña caught the majority of the Indians' games in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

and, although his batting average dropped to .195, he hit a walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the 13th inning of Game 1 in the

1995 American League Division Series The 1995 American League Division Series (ALDS), the opening round of the 1995 American League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 3, and ended on Sunday, October 8, with the champions of the three AL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—p ...

that helped propel the Indians to a three-game sweep 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 eig ...

. The Indians made it all the way to the 1995 World Series before losing to 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) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...

in a six-game series. Peña once again filed for free agency at the end of the season, signing a contract with the Chicago White Sox. He played with the White Sox until August 1997 when he was traded to the Houston Astros. At the end of the year, he retired as a player at the age of 40. In an eighteen-year major league career, Peña played in 1,988

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (su ...

, accumulating 1,687 hits in 6,489 at bats for a .260 career batting average along with 107 home runs, 708 runs batted in and a .309 on-base percentage. He ended his career with a .991 fielding percentage. He led his league five times in putouts and twice in fielding percentage, assists, range factor and in baserunners caught stealing. A five-time All-Star, he won four Gold Glove Awards during his career. Peña's 1,950 games played as a catcher rank him sixth on the all-time list. His 156 career double plays ranks fifth all-time among major league catchers. In 2011, Peña was inducted into the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame Hall of Fame along with

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 ...

broadcaster Jim Rosenhaus. In 2016, he was inducted into the

Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame The Pabellón de la Fama del Caribe (In English, the ''Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame'') was established in 1996 by Juan Francisco Puello Herrera, commissioner of the Confederación de Béisbol del Caribe (''Caribbean Confederation of Profession ...

Coaching and managerial career

In 1999, Peña became the manager of the New Orleans Zephyrs and in 2001 he led them to a first-place finish in the East Division of the

Pacific Coast League 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 Bas ...

. He also led Águilas Cibaeñas of the Dominican Winter Baseball League to two domestic championships in 1998 and 2000, and also led them to the 2001 Caribbean Series title. Peña was hired by the Kansas City Royals in 2002 to replace Tony Muser ( John Mizerock had served as interim manager). Peña led the

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

Royals to a seven-game lead in the American League Central Division by mid-season before settling into a third-place finish in with a record of 83–79. It was the Royals' first season with a winning record since the strike-shortened 1994 season. Peña was rewarded with the 2003 American League Manager of the Year Award. Peña's Royals were less successful in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, finishing in last place in the Central Division of the

with 104 losses. He resigned as manager of the Royals after a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on May 10, 2005, as the Royals had the worst record in the American League at 8–25. He was replaced by interim manager Bob Schaefer. On November 3, 2005, Peña was named first base coach of the

. On October 21,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

, the Yankees announced that Peña would interview to replace Joe Torre as manager. However, the Yankees chose to hire former catcher Joe Girardi to manage the team instead. Peña remained as the Yankees first base coach in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

, before shifting to the role he played as bench coach from 2009 –

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. He assumed the role of Yankees first base coach once more when they hired Joe Espada as the third base coach for the 2015 season and shifted former Yankees third base coach

Rob Thomson Robert Lewis Thomson (born August 16, 1963) is a Canadian professional baseball manager for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. During Thomson’s playing career, he was a catcher and third baseman in the Detroit Tigers org ...

to the role of bench coach. Peña was considered a candidate to replace Terry Francona as the manager of the Red Sox in 2011 before the job went to Bobby Valentine. In 2012, Valentine was fired as Red Sox manager after just one year, and Peña was interviewed to be the Red Sox manager. In 2013, Peña was named the manager of the Dominican Republic National Baseball Team for the World Baseball Classic. Armed with a roster that included Jose Reyes, Robinson Canó, Nelson Cruz, Edwin Encarnación, Fernando Rodney, and many others, the Dominican team stormed through the WBC with an 8-0 record, culminating in a championship with a 3-0 victory over

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. They were the first team in WBC history to go undefeated throughout the tournament. After the 2017 season, the Yankees hired Aaron Boone to replace Girardi as manager, and Peña was replaced by

Reggie Willits Reggie Gene Willits (born May 30, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and associate head baseball coach for the Oklahoma Sooners. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from 2 ...

Personal life

Peña is married to Amaris and they have three children. He is the father of pitcher

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. When he retired from playing, Peña moved on to coaching. He is curre ...

, and catcher

Francisco Peña Francisco Peña (Pegna) (born at Villarroya de los Pinares, near Saragossa, about 1540; died at Rome, in 1612) was a Spanish canon lawyer. Life He devoted himself to the study of law at Valencia. Later Philip II of Spain appointed him audit ...

. Peña's daughter, Jennifer Amaris, won Miss RD USA 2007 and represented the Dominican Community in the USA in Miss Dominican Republic 2008 and came in sixth place. His brother, Ramón Peña, pitched with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

organization.

Managerial record

References

External links