At first, Pena's impressive
First baseman arrives confident he can help right away
By John Schlegel
MLB.com

PHOENIX -- As he walked into the A's clubhouse for the first time Tuesday morning, Carlos Pena stood out in the crowd. He wore a bright- red sweater, which was a stark contrast to the sea of green shirts worn by his new teammates.

It wasn't long, however, before he was covered with Oakland green, fully and officially at one with the A's.

"I've been here for an hour, and already I feel comfortable," Pena said.

The hot first-base prospect had plenty of attention focused on him even when he wasn't there in person yet. After all, he's slated to take over the position vacated by superstar Jason Giambi's departure -- though the A's continue to insist that he's not being asked to replace Giambi.

For Pena, this spring is about establishing himself as the A's first baseman of the future -- and the present.

"I don't come to prove anything, but there's no doubt in my mind and there shouldn't be any doubt in anybody's mind that I want to be the first baseman," Pena said. "I definitely want to take over and be the first baseman for the Oakland A's for a long time. That's my goal."

An engaging 23-year-old with the baseball credentials to reach that goal, Pena makes the claim without a hint of brashness or arrogance.

It's music to A's Manager Art Howe's ears.

"He has something he's striving for -- to be one of the best players in the game," Howe said. "That's the only way you can become that. If you're shy about what you can do and you lack that confidence, you're never going to do it."

At the same time, Howe and the rest of the A's won't be pushing Pena to be the answer right away. Obviously, Howe has a strong background in helping young players find their place as rising stars in the Major Leagues (see: Eric Chavez, Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, et al).

Howe says he'll be erring on the side of caution when it comes to Pena.

"You just have to feel your way and let him know that he's one of nine guys out there, and the weight of the world isn't on his shoulders," Howe said.

While he's full to the brim of his new A's cap with confidence, Pena doesn't mind being handled with kid gloves a little bit.

"I think it's great," Pena said. "He's looking out for his players. That's very admirable. He understands there's going to be a lot of outside pressures coming in, and he's just trying to help me cope with them. I appreciate that, and that's why he's been so successful."

Before a Jan. 14 trade brought him to the A's from Texas, Pena was among baseball's top prospects at first base. The Rangers' No. 1 pick (10th overall) in the 1998 draft, Pena excelled while jumping up a level each of his first three full years in the minors.

But Pena had a roadblock ahead of him in Texas named Rafael Palmeiro, who, at age 37, just keeps hitting homers and getting better as a player.

Now that he's with the A's, Pena is glad to be among peers -- young, talented players who haven't been around the big leagues all that long.

"I think it's a more relaxed environment, because there's not so much of a veteran-rookie thing going on, which can be tough on a rookie," said Pena, who made his Major League debut Sept. 5. "Here, you feel like you're part of the team. It's more of a team. The players are the same age and have the same energy. I think it's great that the Oakland A's are so young."

Pena heard about the trade while playing winter ball in his native Dominican Republic, where he lived the first 14 years of his life before his family moved to the Boston area and he went on to play baseball at Northeastern University.

He was playing with A's outfielder Eric Byrnes and former A's outfielder Andy Abad for the Licey Tigers, eventual champions of the Dominican Winter League. And it was Abad who broke the good news at the team hotel.

"When he saw me, he said, 'You just got traded to the A's,' " Pena said. "And I said, 'Oh, really? All right!' "

Byrnes saw what Pena can do first-hand as the two played the winter circuit in the Dominican.

"I just can't say enough about what Carlos can do," Byrnes said.

While the two became fast friends, Byrnes became more and more impressed with Pena's professional approach to the game -- not only the way he approached hitting, but also how he dealt with expectations of the rabid fans, who were especially hard on the Dominican-born player.

"Guys come in the dugout and yell at you or try to beat you up," Byrnes said. "And those were the home fans."

Pena flashes his ready smile as he thinks about it.

"The fans are really demanding, and they can be really tough on you if you don't know how to handle it," Pena said. "That was the best thing about it. ... We definitely experienced the heat.

"If you strike out, it's over. If you make an out, you're done. If you go 0-for-4, you're done. They're really tough. That was the best thing about it, because it makes you stronger mentally."

Clearly, expectations have been heaped upon Pena before; perhaps they always have. He has pretty high expectations of himself.

So maybe it isn't such a daunting task for him to meet those that are going to be on him now that he's wearing A's green, after all.

"All I want to do is be myself and do what I always do, and that should be sufficient," Pena said.

John Schlegel is a regional writer for MLB.com based in the Bay Area.