Seven years ago, the senior shortstop from Classical High School in Providence was the best player in Rhode Island in Division II, even though his team finished 5-13.
Four years ago, the junior shortstop from the University of Maine in Orono was the 102nd player chosen in the Major League Baseball Draft.
Four days ago, the rookie shortstop for the Houston Astros was the Most Valuable Player in the American League Championship Series.
Friday night, that shortstop from Classical and Maine, Jeremy Pena, will be at short for the Astros when they open the World Series at home against the Philadelphia Phillies.
What an experience for the 25-year-old infielder. Sports writers for the New York Times, Boston Globe, Providence Journal and many other media outlets have produced glowing profiles: his humble beginnings in the Dominican Republic, son of former major leaguer Geronimo Pena, his family’s move to Providence when he was nine, his quiet and confident demeanor at every stage of his development as a baseball player and as a person.
“Jeremy is exactly what you see. He’s a great young man. Well brought up,” Bobby Palazzo told me Thursday morning. Palazzo is the athletics director and track coach at Classical and watched Pena grow during his four years there.
“He’s quiet. Very much into his family. Strong Dominican ties. He’ll be going back this summer, and they will celebrate him,” Palazzo said.
Like many kids, Pena always wanted to be a big-league ball player. He went through Little League and Babe Ruth in Providence. He stood out in high school and in his three years at Maine, where he started 164 games. He played in the New England Collegiate Baseball League and the Cape Cod League during his two college summers.
Folks in Providence saw the potential.
“He had the physique. A lean mean machine. You could see the physique develop on that frame. And he worked really hard. We all saw something special, something in the air,” Palazzo said.
Pena was more than a high-school headliner. He was a great teammate.
“I had him for indoor track. He was a sprinter. He didn’t have blazing speed. He filled out the edges for us. If I needed a sprinter or a jumper, I’d ask Jeremy. He’d say ‘Whatever you need, coach. Track is just keeping me in shape for baseball.’ He made it clear we did not have him for the spring,” Palazzo said, chuckling.
As a young member of the Purple baseball team, Pena was one of the best players on the roster. But coach Kenny Wnuk is loyal to his seniors, Palazzo said, and they got the start.
“He knew his role. He was a good teammate. He understood the tradition.”
His junior and senior years were different. He was the star. Scouts started showing up at Classical games, a rarity for the small city school.
“That just doesn’t happen here. It’s not the norm for us,” Palazzo said. “His father really helped him in many categories, not just being a great dad but in maneuvering all that stuff.”
Pena realized his childhood dream in 2018, when he signed with Houston. His performance in 182 minor-league games convinced the Astros hierarchy that he was their shortstop of the future.
That future arrived last spring, when Houston’s veteran shortstop Carlos Correa, a free agent, signed a three-year, $105.3 million contract with Minnesota.
Pena started the season at short and established himself as one of the best rookies in the game. He played 136 regular-season games, hit .253 with 22 home runs, and helped the Astros win 106 games and their fifth American League West title in six seasons.
Pena struggled some in the second half but rebounded in time for the post-season. His 18th-inning home run completed a sweep of Seattle in the best-of-five ALDS. In the ALCS he went 6 for 17 with two home runs. His three-run shot tied Game 4, which the Astros won for a sweep of that series.
Next up, the Phillies.
Palazzo has kept busy this week talking to media types about Jeremy Pena. As a local television crew filmed footage of the school’s trophy case, he spotted on the top shelf the trophy the state’s baseball coaches awarded Pena as the player of the year in 2015. Pena was out of town at the time and could not accept the hardware in person.
Palazzo is having a replica of Pena’s ALCS MVP award made and plans to place it beside the D-II player of the year award, which will have a more prominent place in that trophy case, befitting a Classical alum who is playing in the World Series.
