Alejandro Peña Vásquez (born June 25, 1959) is a Dominican former
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...
in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
. Listed at 6' 1" , 200 lb. , he batted and threw right-handed.
Peña made his Major League debut on August 13, 1981 (in time to be included on the roster for the
1981 National League Championship Series
The 1981 National League Championship Series was a best-of-five playoff series in Major League Baseball’s 1981 postseason to end the 1981 National League season. It was the 13th NLCS in all. The series featured the first-half West Division c ...
, although he did not appear in the
1981 World Series
The 1981 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1981 Major League Baseball season, 1981 season. The 78th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American Lea ...
), and made his last appearance on April 13, 1996, while pitching for the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
(1981–1989),
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
(1990–1991),
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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
(1991–1992; 1995),
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...
(1994),
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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
(1995) and
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park.
The ...
(1995; 1996).
Peña is currently the
pitching coach
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...
for the
Dominican Summer League Dodgers club.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Pena became a full-time starting pitcher in 1983 and 1984, winning the ERA title in 1984 with 2.48
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
and leading the league with four
shutout
In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...
s. However, his right shoulder wore down & required surgery in early 1985. Pena was converted to reliever after that. He served as set-up man and part-time closer during his Dodgers tenure.
In the
1988 World Series
The 1988 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1988 season. The 85th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Oakland Athletics and the ...
, Pena pitched the 8th and 9th innings of Game 1, allowing one hit, striking out three, and picking up the win after
Kirk Gibson's famous home run. In Game 3, Pena threw three scoreless innings and struck out four.
Atlanta Braves
Peña is best known for his late season success with the Atlanta Braves in 1991. Acquired from the Mets at the end of August (he needed to be on Atlanta's roster on August 31 to pitch in the playoffs), Pena went 13-for-13 in
save opportunities, including saving Games 2 and 6 for
Steve Avery in the
1991 NLCS. He blew a save in Game 3 of the
1991 World Series
The 1991 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1991 season. The 88th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Minnesota Twins (95–67) an ...
, but the Braves later won that game. He was on the mound for the final pitch of that classic series, giving up the base hit to
Gene Larkin
Eugene Thomas Larkin (born October 24, 1962) is an American former switch-hitting first baseman, designated hitter, and right fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire seven-season career with the Minnesota Twins. During his playing ...
that won the title for 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
. Peña was the losing pitcher of Game 7. On September 11, 1991, Peña teamed with fellow Braves pitchers
Kent Mercker and
Mark Wohlers
Mark Edward Wohlers (born January 23, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. A right-handed, right-hander, he played all or parts of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball, exclusively as a relief pitcher. He is best known for hi ...
for a combined
no-hitter
In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...
against 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...
; Peña pitched the final inning of the 1–0 victory for a save. The 13th no-hitter in Braves franchise history, attendance was 20,477 at Fulton-County Stadium in the 1-0 shutout win.
[100 Things Braves Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die: Revised and Updated, Jack Wilkinson, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2019, ISBN 978-1-62937-694-3, p.172] In 1992 he was hampered by tendinitis in his pitching elbow, leading the Braves to leave him off their World Series roster and causing him to miss the 1993 season. In 1995 he was reacquired by the Braves for their World Series run and was the winning pitcher of record for the first two games of their NLDS series.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders
In baseball, earned run average (ERA) is a statistic used to evaluate pitchers, calculated as the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. A pitcher is men by a baserunner who reached base while batting against that pitc ...
References
External links
, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pena, Alejandro
1959 births
Living people
Albuquerque Dukes players
Atlanta Braves players
Boston Red Sox players
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Charlotte Knights players
Clinton Dodgers players
Dominican Republic baseball coaches
Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States
Florida Marlins players
Los Angeles Dodgers players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic
20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen
Mexican League baseball pitchers
Minor league baseball coaches
National League ERA champions
New York Mets players
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Sultanes de Monterrey players
Tigres del Licey players
Vero Beach Dodgers players
Baseball players from Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic