HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Jose Altuve walked into the Navegantes del Magallanes clubhouse in Valencia, Venezuela and found himself surrounded by players much older and more established in the baseball world. Altuve was 20-years old at the time and had not yet stepped foot in a Double-A clubhouse.
“First thing I see is Edgardo Alfonzo, Endy Chavez, guys that have been playing in the big leagues for a long time. It was amazing.”
Alfonzo, 37 at the time, was an All Star with the Mets in 2000 and one of the best Venezuelan players of his era. Chavez was 32 with more than 800 Major League games under his belt. Not overwhelmed by the situation, Altuve batted .284 in 42 games during the 2010-11 Winter League season and made his Major League debut the next summer and he credits that winter in Venezuela for the success he had early in his career.
“I had a better idea what was baseball (was like) at a high level. I owe a lot to those guys, not all big league players, but other players that never made it to the big leagues that played in the winter ball leagues for a long time, they helped me a lot, too, and it was amazing for me.”
Jeremy Peña joined the Dominican Winter League club Estrellas de Oriente at a similar point in his career a dozen years later. He split 2019 between the Astros Class-A affiliates in Quad Cities and Fayetteville, and was slated to spend 2020 with Double-A Corpus Christi until COVID wiped out that season. He was drafted by Estrellas general manager, and current Seattle Mariners third base coach Manny Acta, and he took advantage of the opportunity to gain some valuable experience.
Like Altuve 12 years earlier, Peña shared a clubhouse with established Major Leaguers and a few top prospects. At age 22 he was more than five years younger than the average league player, and more than held his own. Peña played in all 30 games and slashed .306/.349/.779, earning him Rookie of the Year honors, giving him a big confidence boost.
“It helped me grow, for sure,” Peña told SportsRadio 610 on Saturday.” I felt like I matured so much just being in the clubhouse, learning from these guys, these veterans. Felt like I matured as a person and a player.”
“Because of the COVID year a lot of big leaguers decided to play that year, so I was going to the stadium day in, day out, and you had five-to-six big leaguers in the starting lineup and on every team, so it was eye opening.”
Peña’s only regret from that season was playing in games without fans.
“That’s what I was looking forward to the most,” he said. “I felt like my first year, it was great with the playing, but I felt like I didn't get the real experience of the league because the fans make that league what it is.”
He got the full Dominican Winter League experience this past winter after a wrist injury stole most of his 2021 season. He slashed .291/.364/.410 in 30 games with Estrellas and nearly won a league title. He’s carried that success with him to the Majors, where he leads all rookies in home runs (6) and is tied for the rookie lead in RBI (15). His 1.7 bWAR not only leads all first-year players, it’s fifth amongst all position players in Major League Baseball. Winter ball crowds are intense in Latin America and so is the pressure to perform. A bad week can cost a player or manager his job, but Peña said he never felt burdened to produce, and the way he handled himself down there has helped his transition to the sport’s biggest stage.
“In my case I played winter ball a long time ago and it helped me to come here and play and handle everything,” Altuve said. “I think definitely winter ball helped him to play the way he’s playing right now.” The 24-year old has had a lot thrown at him already. Not only is he playing shortstop for the defending American League Champions, but he’s also replacing one of baseball’s best players over the last seven years, Carlos Correa. Peña has embraced the challenge of following Correa while not trying to be him. “He came into his role his way, he didn’t try to be somebody he wasn’t,” Astros pitcher Jake Odorizzi said. “He’s got big shoes to fill coming in after Carlos, but he’s done it the right way.”
An IL trip will keep Correa off the field when the Astros are in Minneapolis this week, so Peña will not get to play against his predecessor. The two spent time together last spring, and Peña says the two “had a pretty good talk” during the playoffs when he was a member of the Astros taxi squad. He says they haven’t spoken since he debuted last month, but hopes they’ll get to talk over the next three days.
“Correa was great to me,” Peña said. “He was a mentor since the first day I met him. He always helped me get better, just like all these guys. Being around these guys every single day, the way they go about their work, they all encouraged me to get better, play hard, compete, and I learned a lot from Correa.”