Tony Francisco Peña (born March 23, 1981) 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, ...

. Peña played

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

until the 2009 season, when he converted to pitching. 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) for the

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 ...

and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. When he retired from playing, Peña moved on to

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

. He is currently the manager for the

' Single-A affiliate, the Columbia Fireflies.

Family

Peña is the son of

Tony Peña Antonio Francisco Peña Padilla (; born 4 June 1957) is a Dominican former professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Cleve ...

and the brother of

Francisco Peña Francisco Peña (Pegna) (born at Villarroya de los Pinares, near Saragossa, about 1540; died at Rome, in 1612) was a Spanish canon lawyer. Life He devoted himself to the study of law at Valencia. Later Philip II of Spain appointed him audit ...

. His uncle, Ramón Peña, pitched for 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 ...

in 1989.

Playing career

Atlanta Braves

A non-drafted

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 ...

, Peña was signed on July 21, 1999 by the

. He made his big league debut with Atlanta on April 13, 2006. His first Major League hit came on April 21 at Washington against the Nationals. He appeared in 40 games for the Braves, batting .227 with a home run and three RBIs in 44 at-bats.

Kansas City Royals

On March 23, 2007, Peña was traded to Kansas City for pitching prospect Erik Cordier. In Peña's first game as a Royal, he hit two triples. Peña finished 2007, his first full season, at .267/.284/.356 with two homers and 47 RBIs. He also hit seven triples and stole five bases. Pena lost his job as a regular starter in the middle of 2008. From June through the end of 2008, Pena mainly entered games as a defensive replacement. Pena made his major league pitching debut on July 21, performing mop-up duty in a 19–4 blowout loss to the Detroit Tigers. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout of

Iván Rodríguez Iván Rodríguez Torres (born November 27, 1971), nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Ran ...

. Pena made 75 plate appearances in 46 games through the last four months of the 2008 season and was designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals on July 16, 2009.

San Francisco Giants

On December 11, 2009, Peña, signed a minor league contract with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

to try to be a pitcher and was placed with the

Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...

, the Giants' Double-A affiliate.

Boston Red Sox

On January 5, 2011, Peña signed a minor league contract with the

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 ...

Vaqueros Laguna

Pena was released by the

Vaqueros Laguna The ''vaquero'' (; , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in what what is today Mexico (then New Spain) and Spanish Florida from a method brought to the Americ ...

on June 16, 2016.

Saraperos de Saltillo

On June 19, 2016, Peña signed with the

Saraperos de Saltillo The Saraperos de Saltillo (English: Saltillo Serapes) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League. Their home ballpark is the Estadio de Béisbol Francisco I. Madero in Saltillo, Coahuila. They have won three championships (1980, 2009 ...

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 ...

Olmecas de Tabasco

On May 19, 2017, Peña was released by the

Olmecas de Tabasco The Olmecas de Tabasco (English: Tabasco Olmecs) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. Their home ballpark is the Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero. The Olmecas won their only Mexican Lea ...

of the

. He ultimately would not appear in another professional baseball game.

Kansas City Royals (second stint)

On May 30, 2017, Peña signed a minor league deal with the

Coaching career

Peña managed the

AZL Royals The Arizona Complex League Royals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compose ...

during the 2019 season. He was named the bench coach of the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...

prior to the 2020 season which ultimately was not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2021, it was announced that he would join the Royals' big league coaching staff. On January 14, 2022, Peña was announced as the manager of the Columbia Fireflies.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peña, Tony Jr. 1981 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players Arizona League Royals players Atlanta Braves players Bravos de Margarita players Burlington Bees players Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for the Dominican Republic Charlotte Knights players Danville Braves players Dominican Republic baseball coaches Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Fresno Grizzlies players Grand Canyon Rafters players Greenville Braves players Jamestown Jammers players Kansas City Royals coaches Kansas City Royals players Macon Braves players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball shortstops Mexican League baseball pitchers Myrtle Beach Pelicans players Olmecas de Tabasco players Omaha Royals players Pawtucket Red Sox players Richmond Braves players Richmond Flying Squirrels players Saraperos de Saltillo players Vaqueros Laguna players Competitors at the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in baseball Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Baseball players from Santiago de los Caballeros