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PERSONAL:
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- Pena credits his father, Felipe, for his positive outlook on life. Felipe was a successful electrical engineer in the Dominican Republic when he decided to move his family to the United States in search of a better life. And Carlos's mother, Mery (yes, that is the correct spelling), was an accountant and teacher. Both left those professional jobs to ensure a better education and life for their four children. That was 1992, when Carlos spoke barely any English.
They lived in a tiny apartment in a dangerous area of Haverhill, Massachusetts. And both parents had to take jobs far beneath their qualifications, Felipe at a waste-treatment center and Mery at a nursing home. They lived in an unheated attic at first.
In 2001, Carlos's Dad, Felipe, earned his MBA. His thesis was on Major League Baseball's business practices because he wanted to better understand what his son is going through. And he started his own company.
Mery Pena is teaching full time.
- In bitter cold Massachusetts, the boys couldn't play outside during the winter. So they went to the YMCA, where they rigged a batting cage of sorts in the basement using an old mattress and some hockey nets. Later, they discovered that they could use a racquetball court for fielding and hitting practice, throwing the racquetball against the wall to the left or right for defensive work, then setting up nets for hitting.
"We invented something that worked pretty well," Felipe Pena said. "It was tough to throw a breaking ball, but I could throw fastballs, and I'd go inside and outside. Every day we were working."
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When he was still a kid, Carlos practiced the principle of visualization. But he took it to the next level. In his mind, Carlos not only pictured himself playing in the Major Leagues, hitting homeruns, and making plays in the field. He pictured entire seasons in the Major Leagues.
- Pena started college at age 16. It was just three years after his family moved to the United States. His freshman year was spent at Wright State University in Ohio, but he got homesick. He then transferred to Northeastern University in Boston, where he majored in electrical engineering, following in his father's footsteps.
- Carlos's two brothers, Omar and Pedro, followed him to Northeastern and baseball. Omar was a psychology major, but he plans to be an architect. Their sister is a ballet dancer and student at Boston College. She has performed with the Ballet Theater of Boston and is an intern with the Boston Ballet. Pedro is a shortstop.
- Omar, was drafted and signed by the Cardinals in 2003, after he completed his collegiate career at Northeastern.
- In 1997, Pena was the MVP of the Cape Cod League, hitting .318-8-33.
- Carlos is long on intangibles. He is intelligent, works hard, and has excellent character.
- He has to watch his weight.
- Pena has tremendous makeup and is a solid person. He is poised and polished on and off the field and has excellent baseball instincts. He knows baseball fundamentals and is able to execute them better than most players.
- In 1999, he was second in the Florida State League in RBI, third in extra-base hits (57), third in walks, and fifth in total bases (229). He also struck out more than anyone else.
- Pena has the nickname "El Presidente" because of the presidential air he has about him. He speaks in eloquent, yet easy to understand sentences. He sounds genuinely humble when he speaks about his ability and his potential. He laughs easily.
"I do understand the responsibility that I carry on my shoulders," Carlos says. "People count on me. I count on myself to be a good man. My goal is not to just become a superstar in the Major Leagues, but I want to become the best person that I can. I'm not doing this for others; I'm doing it for myself. In that way, it's not a burden."
- Carlos had a 20-game hitting streak end on August 26, 2001 for Oklahoma (PCL-Rangers).
- Pena says his baseball heroes growing up were George Bell, Tony Fernandez, and Ken Griffey, Jr.
BOOK LOVER
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Carlos is intelligent and enjoys reading books.
"I got this hunger for knowledge and started reading books like crazy," said Pena, who enjoys reading philosophy and fiction. (Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist is one book he read in 2002.) "I feel like if I'm not reading, I'm wasting my time. Now bookstores are my favorite places. You have no idea how much I enjoy sitting down with a book and a mocha in one of those comfortable chairs, it's so nice and peaceful. When I'm in a bookstore, I think every book is talking to you. All of these great minds, all of those points of view."
Pena's favorite book is probably the motivational guide, The Greatest Salesman in the World.
- In 2002, he wrote a daily diary for Major League Baseball's Web site (MLB.com).
- During the 2002 season, Carlos shared a five-bedroom house in Walnut Creek, California, with four teammates: third baseman Eric Chavez, outfielder Mike Colangelo, and lefties Mark Mulder and Mike Venafro. "Late in the night all we're doing is playing video games and making fun of each other," Chavez said.
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In 2002, Carlos began keeping a little black book, recording information like whatever food or snacks he eats, his sleeping patterns, and batting tips and critiques.
- During the off-season before 2004 spring training, Pena was busy. He played winter league baseball at home in the Dominican, got married in December, honeymooned in Hawaii, then played more winter ball, having much success on the field as well as off it. His 28 RBIs ranked fifth in the league, his six homers led Licey, and only D'Angelo Jimenez had more hits. Moreover, he found winning to be a pretty good feeling.
- In May 2005, with his bat in a slump (.181-3-14 in 41 games) and his fielding in a funk, the Tigers sent him down to the Toledo Mud Hens. Said then-Tigers manager Alan Trammell, ''My feeling is that Carlos needs to regroup, and the best way for him to do that is to get away from this and go down there and find it. It just wasn't working for him in this environment."
Al Avila, the team's vice president and assistant G.M. said, "I think he puts a lot of pressure on himself. ''He has high expectations for himself. His family has high expectations for him. He prides himself on being smart, and there are times he probably overanalyzes. He expects too much, and gets down on himself a little bit. Maybe he can go down there and get in the right frame of mind."
- Pena was named the 2007 American League Comeback Player of the Year Award winner. He set new Rays' franchise records for a season in home runs (46), RBIs (121), walks (103) and slugging percentage (.627).
- Carlos is a family man. His wife, Pamela, is a huge support for him.
- As an avid reader, Pena can appreciate the plot twists and turns his baseball life has followed.
"It's been a very interesting journey - enriching," Peña said during the ALCS he and the Tampa Bay Rays were involved in in October, 2008 with the Red Sox. "I'm very, very happy. I always say there's no good book without a conflict, so if anything, it makes for a good story. I've enjoyed the ride and I've taken a direction I like. I've learned a lot of lessons."
- With the Rays in 2008, before every game, Peña does a strange calisthenics routine in the Tampa Bay dugout, with his teammates laughing and egging him on. The St. Petersburg Times described Peña's ritual as "some hybrid of the haka dance and a swamp-chicken mating ritual."
"Our trainer always has us doing all kinds of stretches," Peña explained. "I said, 'Those are too sophisticated!' So I went back to the old-school way and they started laughing.
"I started coming up with more and doing it before the game, and now it's my thing. We laugh a lot, I say, 'Guys, we're so immature.' And I love it."
His teammates love it, too.
"I don't even know how that came about, but one day he started doing it, and he does it every day and changes it up," Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria said. "We yell, we laugh. It's something that loosens us up. It's one of the reasons this clubhouse is so loose."
"It gets us together, it reminds us to have fun out there, which is the true character of this team," Rays outfielder Fernando Perez said. "It's self deprecating, young, carefree - it gets us rallying around. It's really a bunch of men yelling at a guy to jump and clapping hands. It's very silly, but I can't imagine a game without it, really."
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What's in Carlos's iPod? Juan Luis Guerra, Eddie Herrera, Wisin & Yandel, Marc Anthony, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Juanes, Gipsy Kings.
Pena drives a 2008 lava rock Audi Q7 or a 2008 black Infiniti Q56 (2009).
Favorite Movies: Gladiator, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Rock, The Edge, John Q, The Dark Knight.
Magazine subscriptions: Robb Report, International Homes
Favorite Meal: "My wife cooks this delicious rice with beans and barbecue pork chops, then adds sliced tomatoes and fried sweet plantains—Dominican style!" Carlos said.
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Carlos said his first job was at Henderson's Farm in Haverhill, Massachusetts when he was 15 years old. His position: Official squash, pumpkin, and zucchini collector.
"I got paid minimum wage, which was around $5.25 an hour, to take care of the crops and then collect them, as I like to call it. Besides the arduous work, I really enjoyed my co-workers and got a killer farmer's tan," Pena said.
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Pena says the person he'd most like to trade places with would be Tiger Woods.
"I know that Tiger puts in a lot of work, but winning over and over again—now that must be a whole lot of FUN!" Carlos said.
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Carlos' worst habit: "I misplace everything—keys, cell phone, bats, glove, you name it."
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In Tampa, Pena likes hanging out at the beach, where he lives. Every morning he will run in the sand, take a light swim to freshen up and loosen up.
"And, of course, my favorite pre-game meal: I air-dry while berbecuing some sea salt-seasoned rib-eyes while overlooking the Gulf of Mexico," Carlos said.
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August 12, 2010: Carlos' wife, Pamela, gave birth to their first child.
TRANSACTIONS
- June 1998: Carlos was the Rangers first round pick, out of Northeastern University in Boston.
- January 14, 2002: The A's sent P Mario Ramos, OF Ryan Ludwick, 1B Jason Hart and C Gerald Laird to the Rangers for Pena and P Mike Venafro.
- July 5, 2002: As part of a major three-team trade, the Tigers acquired Pena, P Frankly German and P Jeremy Bonderman from the A's; the A's received P Ted Lilly, OF John-Ford Griffin and P Jason Arnold from the Yankees; and the Yankees got P Jeff Weaver from the Tigers.
- March 26, 2006: The Tigers released Pena after he hit only .160 with one home run in 50 at-bats in exhibition games. Detroit paid him $688,525 in termination pay on a one-year, $2.8-million contract.
- April 15, 2006: Carlos signed with the Yankees organization. The contract was for $1.25 million, with another $500,000 in incentives.
- January 24, 2007: Pena signed with the Devil Rays organization.
- January 18, 2008: Carlos and the Rays avoided salary arbitration, agreeing to a three-year, $24.125 million contract, calling for $6 million in 2008, then $8 million in 2009, and $10.125 million in 2010.
- December 8, 2010: Pena signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Cubs.
- January 20, 2012: Carlos returned to the Rays, agreeing to a $7.25 million one year contract.
- December 17, 2012: Pena signed a one-year contract with the Astros to serve as their DH for their first season in the American League.
But on July 31, 2013, the Astros released Carlos.
- August 27, 2013: Pena signed with the Royals organization.
- January 28, 2014: Carlos signed with the Angels organization.
March 23, 2014: The Angels released Pena. The former All-Star batted just .139 with 14 strikeouts in spring training.
- June 17, 2014: The Texas Rangers signed Carlos Pena to a minor-league contract.
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BATTING:
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- Pena is exemplary in his conduct both on the field and off of it.
- He has an easy, short, powerful, classic lefthanded swing. He can hit for both average and power, producing lots of runs. The slight uppercut in his swing is perfect for a power hitter.
Players with the kind of lefthanded power Carlos Pena has are hard to find. And he hits good pitching. - He used to be very vulnerable to breaking pitches and lefthanded pitchers still get him out most of the time. He needs to stay back on the breaking ball and not look for fastballs so often.
You don't see him chase bad pitches very often anymore. He hits from a very wide base, which allows him to really use his hands. You have to be very strong to be that spread out at the plate. (October 2008) - Carlos hits the ball hard from right-center field to left-center field. He has learned to hit to the opposite field real well. (He used to pull the ball too much.)
He walks a lot, but also strikes out a lot. - He hits some real tape-measure shots.
- When in the Dominican as a little boy, Carlos had friends lob palm-tree nuts at him to hack at. Even now, he has clubhouse attendants throw popcorn kernels for him to hit. His mother used to do that for him, with Carlos hitting them with a broomstick. The idea is that after hitting such a small object, the baseball looks huge.
- Pena needs to prove he can hit Major League breaking stuff. And in 2005, he was displaying better pitch recognition, especially between fastballs and changeups. And he has learned to go to the plate looking for the pitch he wants to hit. He doesn't chase pitches nearly as often as before. And he swings through the ball instead of across it.
Carlos finally figured out in 2005, that he doesn't have it all figured out. His attitude improved as he sought information from coaches and teammates, soaking up all he can get.
- In 2005, from August 17 on, Pena hit .286 with 15 home runs—second most in the American League over that span—and 30 RBIs.
- Pena received his 2007 American League Silver Slugger Award, presented by Louisville Slugger.
The award recognizes the top offensive producers at each position in each league. Winners are determined by Major League Baseball coaches and managers. Selection is based on a combination of offensive statistics, including batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, as well as general impressions of a player's overall offensive value to his team. In June 2010, Pena homered in six straight games for the Rays. The streak ended on June 13.
The Major League record is eight shared by the Pirates' Dale Long (1956), Yankees' Don Mattingly (1987) and Mariners' Ken Griffey, Jr. (1993). Research by David Vincent of the Society For American Baseball Research found just two others have homered in seven straight: the Indians' Jim Thome (2002) and Giants' Barry Bonds (2004). And only 15 others had six-game streaks. In 2009, Carlos tied with Mark Teixeira for the American League lead in home runs, with 39, even though Pena missed the last 25 games of the season with two broken fingers. In 2010, the biggest reason for Pena's very poor .196 batting average was lack of pitch recognition. (Editor's note: In 2011, he hit only .225; and then .197 in 2012.) Pena is a thinker and, sometimes, he believes that thinking leads to over analyzing things. "I think the ability to just accept who you are, who I am as a hitter [is something he has to do]," Pena said. "I know what I bring to the table. I'm a selective hitter, I make pitchers work, I know I play good defense, I know I get on base, I walk, I hit for power, I drive in runs. I will strike out. I have the shift working against me. The chances are against me of hitting .350. So accepting that and being OK with that is incredibly important."
- Pena entered the 2014 season with a career batting average of .233 and 285 home runs and 816 RBI in 4,890 at-bats.
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