Jeremy Peña has capped his remarkable rookie season with history-making prize…
The 25-year-old Dominican professional baseball player, a shortstop for the Houston Astros, has become the first rookie position player to win the Willie Mays World Series MVP award after leading his team to the World Series title over the Philadelphia Phillies, four games to two.
“It has a lot to do with my family, my upbringing,” Pena said. “Shoutout to my teammates as well. They took me in since day one. They gave me the confidence to just go out and play my game.”
Peña came through in the clutch during all four of the Astros’ wins, and he was the team’s most consistent hitter as well.
In Game 2, Peña hit a first-inning RBI double to give Houston a 1-0 edge en route to a 5-2 win.
In Game 4, he had a single and a run during the Astros’ five-run fifth inning en route to a 5-0 victory.
In Game 5, he had three hits, a run and two RBI in a 3-2 victory. His two biggest hits were a first-inning RBI single and a fourth-inning solo home run.
In Game 6, the shortstop scored the game-winning run after hitting a single and scoring after Yordan Alvarez‘s towering three-run home run en route to the 4-1 clincher.
Peña also won the American League Championship Series MVP after hitting .353 with a pair of home runs in a four-game sweep of the New York Yankees. He is the first-ever player to win the ALCS and World Series MVP awards.
He filled big cleats this season after longtime shortstop Carlos Correa signed with the Minnesota Twins last offseason, but he excelled with 22 home runs, 63 RBI and a .715 OPS. And that was before an exemplary playoff performance that vaulted Houston to its second-ever World Series win.
Pena went 2-for-4 with a run scored Saturday at the plate while continuing to flash the defense that made him the first-ever rookie shortstop to win a Gold Glove.
For the series, Pena hit .400, posted a 1.023 OPS and led all hitters with 10 hits and 15 total bases. Pena also smacked a go-ahead home run off Philadelphia’s Noah Syndergaard during Houston’s crucial 3-2 win in Game 5.
Pena, who was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, carried the flag of his homeland to the podium for his postgame news conference.
“Man, it’s special,” Pena said. “I can’t even put it into words right now, but shoutout to my Dominican people.”
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Pena’s OPS makes him just the fourth rookie to surpass 1.000 over a single World Series, minimum of 20 at-bats. He joins Pepper Martin, 1.330 (Cardinals, 1931); Andruw Jones, 1.250 (Braves, 1996); and Randy Arozarena, 1.234 (Rays, 2020).
During the regular season, Pena hit .253 with 22 homers, 63 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. He enters the offseason as a top candidate for American League Rookie of the Year.
Pena becomes the first rookie position player to win World Series MVP and third rookie overall, joining Larry Sherry (1959) and Livan Hernandez (1997).