Tony Peña

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For other baseball players named Tony Peña, see Tony Peña (disambiguation).

Antonio Francisco Peña Padilla, widely known as Tony Peña [PAY-nyah] (born June 4, 1957 in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic) is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He was the manager of the Kansas City Royals between 2002 and 2005.

Contents 1 Playing career 2 Coaching and managerial career 3 Trivia 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Playing career

As a player, Peña was known for his defensive skills with the Pirates, Cardinals, Red Sox, Indians, White Sox and Astros. He won four Gold Glove Awards and was a five-time All-Star. He was known for his habit of sitting on the ground when there were no runners on base, one leg splayed out to the side.

Peña had a great hitting National League Championship Series and World Series in 1987, going 17-for-43 in that postseason, with 4 RBIs in the WS.

Another one of his memorable moments came in the opening game of the 1995 American League Division Series when he hit a game-winning homer against his former team the Boston Red Sox.

In an 18-season career, he was a .260 batter with 107 home runs and 708 RBIs in 1988 games. He had 1687 hits in 6489 at bats.

[edit] Coaching and managerial career

Peña led Águilas Cibaeñas, a professional baseball team in his native Dominican Republic's winter league, to two domestic championships (1998 and 2000) and a 2001 Caribbean World Series title.

Hired by the Royals in 2002 to replace Tony Muser (John Mizerock had served as interim manager), Peña took fans for a ride in 2003, taking a 7-game lead by the All-Star break before settling into a third-place finish in the American League Central Division, with a record of 83-79. It was their first season with a winning record since the strike-shortened 1994 season, and Peña was rewarded with the American League Manager of the Year trophy.

Peña's Royals were less successful in 2004, finishing in last place in the Central Division of the American League 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^[1]. He was replaced by interim manager Bob Schaefer.

On November 3, 2005, Peña was named first base coach of the New York Yankees.

He is the father of Atlanta Braves player Tony Peña, as well as New York Mets minor league player Francisco Peña, a 16-year-old prospect signed on July 9, 2006.

[edit] Trivia

• Peña was the first strikeout victim of St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Ralph Citarella. {Three Rivers Stadium -- September 13, 1983}
• Peña was the MVP of the 1986 Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series.

[edit] See also

• Players from Dominican Republic in MLB

[edit] References

1. ^ Recap: Toronto 3, Kansas City 1 (May 10, 2005). Retrieved on October 18, 2006.

[edit] External links

• Baseball-Reference.com - playing statistics and managing record

Preceded by: Mike Scioscia	American League Manager of the Year 2003	Succeeded by: Buck Showalter
Preceded by: John Mizerock	Kansas City Royals Manager 2002-2005	Succeeded by: Bob Schaefer