Carlos Pena, Retired


Date of Birth: 5/17/1978
Birthplace: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
College: Northeastern University

Carlos Pena was first drafted by the Texas Rangers in 1998. Pena who had a batting average of .324 in college, didn't play with the Rangers until September, 2001. After only 22 games with the Rangers, they traded him to the Oakland Athletics. He had a very short career with Oakland, playing in just 40 games with a batting average of .218, when they traded him to the Detroit Tigers in July, 2002. In 75 games with the Tigers in 2002, Pena batted .243 with 69 hits and 12 home runs.

Pena played full seasons in 2003 and 2004 and he started hitting home runs, increasing his numbers from 18 in 2003 to 27 the following season. He had a poor start in 2005 and he was sent down to the minor leagues and didn't play with the Tigers again until August, having just 79 games with the team that season. The following March, the Tigers released Pena after he had a poor Spring training.

Pena spent most of 2006 in the minors, playing in just 18 games with his new team, the Boston Red Sox. The following year found Pena with another new team, the Tampa Bay Rays. It was in 2007 with the Rays that Pena started producing at the plate, batting .282, with 138 hits, 46 home runs, and 121 RBIs.

Pena stayed with the Rays through 2010, but in 2011, he signed a one year contract with the Chicago Cubs. That arrangement, like his next one, lasted only a year and in 2012, he returned for a year to the Rays. In December, 2012, Pena signed another one year contract with the Houston Astros.

Pena returned to the Rangers in 2014, playing in just 18 games with them before being released on August 17, 2014.

Although Pena moved around from team to team and he had some poor years, he did win several awards , including a Silver Slugger award in 2007 and a Gold Glove in 2008. He was named AL Comeback player of the Year in 2007, and in 2009, he co-led the American League in home runs.

Pena retired as a major league player in 2015. Prior to retiring, however, he signed on with the MLB Network in December, 2014, as a studio analyst. Three years later, in 2017, he worked as a studio analyst for NESN (the Red Sox network) and as a color commentator for the final Red Sox series of that season.

Pena's statistics over 14 seasons (2001-2014) in the major leagues include:

  • 1,493 games played
  • 1,146 hits
  • 231 doubles
  • 286 home runs
  • 818 RBIs
  • 1,577 strikeouts to 817 walks

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Carlos Pena
ESPN Sports - Carlos Pena