Carlos Peña

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**Carlos Peña**
Major League Baseball debut
Tampa Bay Devil Rays — No. 23
First Baseman
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
September 5, 2001 for the Texas Rangers
Selected MLB statistics (through October 1, 2006)
Batting average	.243
Home runs	86
RBI's	243
Former teams
Texas Rangers (2001) Oakland A's (2002) Detroit Tigers (2002-2005) Boston Red Sox (2006)

Carlos Felipe Peña (born May 17, 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a left-handed first baseman. He is currently a non-roster invitee for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

He spent three and a half years with the Detroit Tigers after being acquired via trade in July 2002 from the Oakland Athletics, who had acquired him the previous year from the Texas Rangers. At the time he was considered a top prospect. After relatively solid rookie and sophomore seasons, his consistency at the plate dipped noticeably, and he was demoted back to the minors early in the 2005 season. The Tigers recalled him in August, and despite a knack for hitting game-deciding home runs during the last few weeks of that season, all of his stats other than home runs and slugging percentage were sub-par. With Chris Shelton penciled in as the Tigers' starting first baseman for the 2006 season, Peña had hoped to win a role as a utility player or a designated hitter, but after continuing to disappoint during spring training, the team released him outright on March 28, 2006. He was very popular with the fans during his stint with the Tigers, being a large draw at public appearances and autograph signings. Many #12 shirts could be seen in the stands. For his birthday one year, two entire sections stood up during an inning break to sing to him. Also during his career with the Tigers, he married Pamela, also a Dominican native, and became a father to a baby girl.

Peña was picked up by the New York Yankees on April 15, 2006, and had played for the Yankees' minor-league Columbus Clippers until Peña exercised a clause in his contract, becoming a free agent. Peña signed with the Boston Red Sox on August 16, 2006, returning to his home state of Massachusetts. He played his first game with the Red Sox on August 28, 2006, filling in for an injured David Ortiz and hit a walk-off solo-homerun on September 4, 2006[1].

Peña was drafted by the Rangers with the tenth pick in the first round of the 1998 amateur draft.

As of the end of the 2005 season, his career batting average is .243, with 85 home runs and 240 RBI in 489 games and 1652 plate appearances. He attended Haverhill High School, Haverhill, Massachusetts, Wright State University and Northeastern University. As a collegiate player, he competed in the Cape Cod League, which showcases top amateur prospects every summer. He was a member of the Wareham Gatemen in 1997.[2]

Carlos Peña is the first Major League player to have also played in Steve Buckley's annual Old Time Baseball Game, played at St. Peter's Field in Cambridge, Massachusetts each August.

Carlos hit two walk-off home runs for the Tigers. The first being a solo shot against Kansas City in 2002. The second was a grand slam against the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2004. And on September 4th, 2006, he hit a tenth inning shot against the Chicago White Sox to win the game for Boston.