Biggest Surprise of the 2007 Season

by Thomas Fischer
10/07/2007

What was the biggest surprise to you in 2007? Was it the Phillies winning the division and stunning the Mets over the past week plus of the season? Was it the Cubs getting rolled out in three games by the D-Backs in the NLDS? Was it perhaps Magglio Ordonez hitting .363 and winning the AL Batting Title? Maybe it shocked you that the Colorado Rockies won 90 games and are on the verge of knocking out those Phillies I mentioned above in the NLDS. No? None of these?

Perhaps it was the statistical anomaly put up by Carlos Pena, the first baseman for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Considering the team he plays for and the fact there have been in history, those mysterious players that seem to come out of nowhere playing for the worst team in both leagues, and yet put up some monster numbers. Yes it may be surprising, almost inconceivable to you and many others, that the 29 year old first sacker hit 46 home runs and drove in 121 RBI for the worst team in the majors this year. And even more surprising still that he was released by the Tigers the year before because he just flat out couldn't hit his way out of a wet paper bag. Yet this year, he breaks out.

Well, I gotta be honest with you, ever since I saw this stud of a player coming up in the Texas Rangers organization and seeing the swing he had then, and still has today, I gotta say I am shocked that all the teams Pena has played for have passed him along like so many dirty baskets of laundry. Pena has a terrific swing and I think, despite his K totals, he is a good hitter. Finally this year the numbers give him some credibility and he was just recently named Comeback Player of the Year.

Granted, Carlos Pena is no Alex Rodriguez, but I think putting up these kind of numbers for such a horrible team, should earn him a few votes for the American League MVP award this year. I know that A-Rod or some other player will get it in the American League, but Pena does I think deserve some consideration. No one else on the Tampa Bay roster even came close to putting up the kind of numbers Pena did and only Upton and Crawford are close to Pena in talent, in my humble opinion.

As a huge Detroit Tigers fan, I am somewhat disappointed that the club let him go so quickly. I wish they could have found a place for him somewhere in the organization while he developed. I think though that this was Pena's break out season and we'll see a lot more season performances like this from the young first baseman from Tampa Bay. He's a solid athlete that is only getting better with age.

His career Major League stats are not quite as good as his career minor league stats but he is still young and I think that he has the potential to consistently put up numbers like those he posted in 2007. I understand that he struck out 142 times in 2007, but this I think is a number that will come down in the future, plus he did walk 103 times which adds to his value. Pena is a very good young player, and I've been saying it for years.

Major Leauge Batting Stats
Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
2001	TEX	22	62	6	16	3	12	10	17	0	0	.361	.500	.258
2002	OAK-DET	115	397	43	96	19	52	41	111	2	2	.316	.448	.242
2003	DET	131	452	51	112	18	50	53	123	4	5	.332	.440	.248
2004	DET	142	481	89	116	27	82	70	146	7	1	.338	.472	.241
2005	DET	79	260	37	61	18	44	31	95	0	1	.325	.477	.235
2006	BOS	18	33	3	9	1	3	4	10	0	0	.351	.424	.273
2007	TB	148	490	99	138	46	121	103	142	1	0	.411	.627	.282
Total		668	2222	339	557	138	377	320	662	14	9	.350	.498	.251

 

Minor League Batting Stats
Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
1998	A-Charlotte	7	22	1	6	1	0	0	3	2	8	0	1	.360	.318	.273
1998	R-Rangers	2	5	1	2	0	0	0	0	3	1	1	1	.625	.400	.400
1998	A-Savannah	30	117	22	38	14	0	6	20	8	26	3	2	.385	.598	.325
1999	A-Charlotte	136	501	85	128	31	8	18	103	74	135	2	5	.365	.457	.255
2000	AA-Tulsa	138	529	117	158	36	2	28	105	101	108	12	0	.414	.533	.299
2001	AAA-Oklahoma	119	431	71	124	38	3	23	74	80	127	11	3	.408	.550	.288
2002	AAA-Sacramento	44	175	30	42	10	1	10	33	24	49	3	0	.340	.480	.240
2003	AAA-Toledo	8	30	4	10	4	1	0	5	4	7	0	0	.429	.533	.333
2005	AAA-Toledo	71	257	43	80	17	1	12	45	45	65	3	4	.424	.525	.311
2006	AAA-Columbus	105	381	65	99	17	0	19	66	63	89	4	0	.370	.454	.260
2006	AAA-Pawtucket	11	37	7	17	3	0	4	8	5	5	0	0	.523	.865	.459
Total		671	2485	446	704	171	16	120	462	409	620	39	16	.392	.510	.283