Growing trees are different from the cotyledon. This is the story of Jeremy Pena (26, Houston Astros), who debuted in the major leagues last year and performed explosively.

Texas local media’Click to Houston’ reported on the 9th (Korean time) that Pena would join the Dominican Republic national team in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).

Pena is a special rookie who debuted in the major leagues last year. His main position was a shortstop, which put a lot of pressure on defense, but he drew attention for his seasoned play that was not like a rookie. He showed outstanding performance in both offense and defense. In 136 games he played, he had a batting average of .253 (132 hits in 521 at-bats), 22 home runs, and 63 RBIs, with an OPS (slugging percentage + on-base percentage) of .715.

Pena’s momentum continued in his postseason. He appeared in 13 games and led the team to their second World Series championship with a batting average of 0.345 (20 hits in 58 at-bats), 4 homers, 8 RBIs and an OPS of 1.005.

Ahead of last season, Houston lost Carlos Correa (29, Minnesota Twins), who served as the main shortstop for 7 years from 2015, to a free agent (FA) transfer. Since Correa is one of the top-notch shortstops representing the major leagues, the hiatus was very painful, but the bleeding was minimized with the appearance of ‘good luck’ Pena. Pena energized the team with performances comparable to Correa and produced meaningful results in his debut season. 메이저놀이터

After the 2022 season, Pena finished the first year of his debut with a splendid career, including the World Series MVP, this year’s rookie’s team selection, and the American League Gold Glove award. And thanks to his performance, he also competed in international competitions with the Dominican national team at the WBC.

The media explained, “As many expected, the Dominican national team requested to join the WBC because of Pena’s performance.

Meanwhile, Dominica, along with the United States, was considered a strong candidate for the 2023 WBC championship. It was expected that a large number of key players in the major leagues would participate, but the atmosphere is changing over time.

Luis Castillo (31, Seattle Mariners), Framber Valdez (30, Houston), Luis Severino (29, New York Yankees), and Freddy Peralta (27, Milwaukee Brewers) are the starting pitchers for the national team. He expressed his intention not to attend because he did not receive permission. The Dream Team’s dreams are fading.

If Pena overcomes all these adversities and wins the WBC, he can record the best career as a baseball player from his first season. Attention is focusing on whether the true value of a super rookie can be revealed at international competitions.