Ramon Antonio Peña (born January 9, 1982), is a Dominican former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played 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 ...

(MLB) with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, and in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) for the Chinatrust Brothers He throws a 4-seam and 2-seam

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

, slider, and a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball, but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced spee ...

. Pena's slider is considered to have above average break, and his 4-seam fastball is better than his stats would indicate, judging by velocity and control.

Professional career

Arizona Diamondbacks

Peña was signed by the

as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

on June 13, 2002. Peña played under the identity of his nephew Adriano Rosario who was three years younger in his first two seasons of Double-A baseball. He made his MLB debut on July 18, 2006. As a rookie, he went 3–4 with a 5.58 ERA over innings. He struck out 21, while walking eight and giving up six home runs. After boasting a 1.04 ERA in the month of July, Peña struggled in August with a 6.59 ERA and September with a 9.82 ERA. In the last month of the season, he posted two scoreless outings over six appearances. Peña made the Major League roster out of

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

for the first time in his career in 2007. He made his season debut on April 3 against the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

, tossing two scoreless innings of relief. He earned his first win on April 18, pitching a perfect inning of relief. He finished the month of May going 2–1 with a 1.88 ERA with three holds. Peña picked up his first save of the season on May 8 against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

, second of career. He pitched 12 scoreless innings of relief from June 5 to 28, the longest streak of the season by a D-backs reliever. He ranks fourth in franchise history with 32 career holds and is second on the single-season franchise record list with 30 holds, 5 behind Brandon Lyon. Peña picked up his first Major League hit on May 25 against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

, a RBI single to

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

. His 23 holds led the team and tied for fourth in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

in 2008. His 55 career holds are second only to Brandon Lyon's 62 in team history. He recorded 5 consecutive holds for the second time in his career from April 21 to 30. Peña earned his first save of the season on May 16 against 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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Chicago White Sox

On July 7, 2009, Peña was traded to the

in exchange for minor leaguer Brandon Allen. He went 1–2 with the Sox in 2009 and a combined 6–5 with two saves, 55 strikeouts and a 3.99 ERA in 72 games. On May 29, 2011, Peña was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow

tendinitis Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow ( tenn ...

retroactive to May 28. He would later be transferred to the 60-day disabled list, where he spent the rest of the season. Peña was released by the White Sox on October 14.

Los Angeles Angels

On August 12, 2012, Peña signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

. He was released on May 30, 2013.

Sultanes de Monterrey

On April 1, 2014, Peña signed with the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey (English: Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball club in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Monterrey, Mexico. Established in 1939 as Carta Blanca, the Sultanes have won ten LMB titles, most recently in 2018. Fro ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. In 14 games for Monterrey, he logged a 2-1 record and 8.56 ERA with 21 strikeouts across innings pitched. Peña was released by the Sultanes on April 27.

Chinatrust Brothers

On August 31, 2014, Peña signed with the Chinatrust Brothers of the

. He became a free agent following the season.

York Revolution

On July 1, 2015, Peña signed with the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Basebal ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. In 36 appearances for York, he posted a 2-2 record and 2.75 ERA with 31 strikeouts across innings pitched. Peña became a free agent following the season. On February 26, 2016, Peña re-signed a new contract with the Revolution. He made 28 appearances (23 starts) for the team, compiling a 7-10 record and 5.58 ERA with 82 strikeouts across innings of work. Peña became a free agent following the season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pena, Tony 1982 births Living people Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Angels players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States El Paso Diablos players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 21st-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Missoula Osprey players South Bend Silver Hawks players Baseball players from Santo Domingo Tennessee Smokies players Tucson Sidewinders players World Baseball Classic players of the Dominican Republic York Revolution players 2009 World Baseball Classic players