Alejandro Peña Vásquez [ah-leh-hahn'-dro / pen'-nya / vahs'-kes] (born June 25, 1959), is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Listed at 6' 1" [1.85 m], 200 lb. [91 k], he batted and threw right-handed.

Peña made his Major League debut on September 14, 1981 and made his last appearance on April 13, 1996, while pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1981–1989), New York Mets (1990–1991), Atlanta Braves (1991–1992; 1995), Pittsburgh Pirates (1994), Boston Red Sox (1995) and Florida Marlins (1995; 1996).

Peña is currently the pitching coach for the Dominican Summer League Dodgers club.

Atlanta Braves[edit]

Peña is best known for his late season success with the Atlanta Braves in 1991. Acquired from the Mets at the trade deadline, Pena went 13-for-13 in save opportunities, including saving Games 2 and 6 for Steve Avery in the 1991 NLCS. He blew a save in Game 3 of the 1991 World Series, but the Braves later won that game. He was on the mound for the final pitch of that classic series, giving up the base hit to Gene Larkin that won the title for the Minnesota Twins. Peña was the losing pitcher of Game 7. On September 11, 1991, Peña teamed with fellow Braves pitchers Kent Mercker and Mark Wohlers for a combined no-hitter against the San Diego Padres; Peña pitched the final inning of the 1–0 victory for a save. In 1992 he was hampered by tendinitis in his pitching elbow which caused the Braves to leave him off the World Series Roster and caused him to miss the 1993 season. In 1995 he was reacquired by the Braves for their World Series run and was the winning pitcher of record for the first two games of their NLDS series.

See also[edit]

• List of Major League Baseball all-time saves leaders
• List of Major League Baseball ERA champions

External links[edit]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet