Tony Francisco Peña (born March 23, 1981) is a Dominican former 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 tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. Peña played

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 ...

until the 2009 season, when he converted to pitching. When he retired from playing, Peña moved on to coaching. He is currently a major league coach for 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 expans ...

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).

Family

Peña is the son of Tony Peña and the brother of Francisco Peña. His uncle,

Ramón Peña Ramón Arturo Peña Padilla (born May 5, 1962) is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher who played one season for the Detroit Tigers of the Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the brother of former MLB catcher Tony Peña and the ...

, pitched for 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 ...

in 1989.

Playing career

Atlanta Braves

A non-drafted

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 ...

, Peña was signed on July 21, 1999 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 ...

. 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.

Kansas City Royals

On March 23, 2007, Peña was traded to Kansas City for pitching prospect

Erik Cordier Erik Michael Cordier (born February 25, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the San Francisco Giants in 2014. Career Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals selected Cor ...

. In Peña's first game as a Royal, he hit two triples. 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. 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 Iván Rodríguez Torres (born November 27, 1971), nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the Texas Rangers (in two separate stints, comprising the majority of his career), Florida ...

. 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.

San Francisco Giants

On December 11, 2009, Peña, signed a minor league contract with 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 Yor ...

to try to be a pitcher and was placed with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Giants' AA team.

Boston Red Sox

On January 5, 2011, he signed a minor-league deal with 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 ...

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 The Olmecas de Tabasco (English: Tabasco Olmecs) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. Their home ballpark is the Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero. The Olmecas won their only Mexican Leag ...

of the Mexican Baseball League. 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

Coaching career

Peña managed the

AZL Royals The Arizona Complex League Royals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compos ...

during the 2019 season. He was named the bench coach of the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at Wer ...

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.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peña, Tony Jr. 1981 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Arizona League Royals players Atlanta Braves players Bravos de Margarita players Burlington Bees players Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for the Dominican Republic Charlotte Knights players Danville Braves players Dominican Republic baseball coaches Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Fresno Grizzlies players Grand Canyon Rafters players Greenville Braves players Jamestown Jammers players Kansas City Royals coaches Kansas City Royals players Macon Braves players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball shortstops Mexican League baseball pitchers Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Olmecas de Tabasco players Omaha Royals players Pawtucket Red Sox players Richmond Braves players Richmond Flying Squirrels players Saraperos de Saltillo players Vaqueros Laguna players Competitors at the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in baseball Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Venezuela People from Santiago de los Caballeros