Peña Rebounds In Time To Help Astros To Big Victory
Jeremy Peña is mature beyond his years.
The American League Championship Series and World Series Most Valuable Player helped guide the Houston Astros to their second title since 2017.
Peña was sensational in the ALCS and especially in the World Series as the Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.
Major League Baseball can humble the greatest players of all time.
Peña began the ’23 season in a rough 0-for-19 slump.
But like last season, Peña never panicked. He hit a double and home run in Wednesday’s 8-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers and looked like the hitter from the postseason.
“It’s baseball,” Peña told reporters. “It’s just part of the game. You keep making adjustments and showing up every single day, and that’s what I try to do.”
Sound advice.
But not as easy as it sounds, either.
Peña hit 22 home runs as a rookie and four more huge blasts in the playoffs.
He’s clearly not intimidated by pressure situations.
“Home runs are always fun, so happy to get the first one out of the way,” Peña said. “It’s always a good feeling.”
Astros manager Dusty Baker has been around long enough to sense that Peña was close to snapping out of his funk.
“He looked a lot better today,” Baker said. “The whole team looked better today, and sometimes, you need to see a left-hander (Tigers starter Eduardo Rodriguez) to keep you going into the ball versus you’re seeing all right-handers, and you have a tendency to pull off the ball. That was a good day for us, good offensive day."
Peña played for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic and believed that he was more than prepared for this season. Sometimes slumps happen.
“I felt like I started the season, and I felt good,” Peña said. “I feel I had enough at-bats coming into the season to find my groove. The World Baseball Classic helped me with that, as well, to get in game mode.”
Peña’s success in the postseason was an amazing feat for a rookie. So an early slump in the regular season isn’t going to be difficult to overcome.
Not for such a mature player as Peña.
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