Jeremy Pena, who finished 5th in the Rookie of the Year award, set a goal for the upcoming season.
A native of the Dominican Republic, Peña has worn the Houston Astros since 2018. And last year, he suddenly took over the place where Carlos Correa (Minnesota Twins) left, and started the season as the starting shortstop.
Although it is difficult to say that he performed tremendously during the season, he batted 0.253, 22 homers, 63 RBIs, 72 points, and 11 stolen bases with an OPS of 0.715 and ranked 5th in the Rookie of the Year award.
However, his ‘real’ performance came in the postseason. In the postseason, he had a batting average of 0.345, 4 home runs, 8 RBIs, 12 runs scored, and an OPS of 1.005, helping the team win the American League Championship Series and World Series MVP consecutively. It is evaluated that without Pena, Houston would have been difficult to win. 스포츠토토
Now perfectly adjusted to the big leagues, Pena is entering his second season. Pena participated in the club fan event ‘Houston Festa’ held on the 22nd (Korean time) and met with reporters.
“I want to leave last year as last year,” Pena said. My only goal now is to help the team win again. Currently, both physically and mentally, I am fine. We know what to do in the spring, and we will do it. I am confident,” he said.
Along with him, Jose Altuve, who makes up the Keystone duo, also participated in the event and said, “I am still grateful to Pena. Without him, he would never have been able to reap the ring. He is a really great player.”
Pena plans to digest the starting shortstop position this season as well. Most of Houston’s players are the same, but Jose Abreu joined at first base and Justin Verlander, who was an ace, was let go. Houston is still considered a favorite to win, and attention is focused on whether it will be able to harvest the ring for two consecutive years as Pena’s goal.