Carlos' Corner: 'I'm learning every day'
A's rookie Peņa debuts daily diary
By Carlos Peņa
Special to MLB.com
Carlos Peņa, a 23-year-old rookie, was acquired by Oakland during the
offseason in a six-player trade with Texas. Expected to replace Jason
Giambi as the A's starting first baseman, perhaps as soon as Opening
Day, Peņa is considered one of the top prospects in the game and has
agreed to provide for MLB.com an exclusive daily diary for the 2002
season.
He submitted his debut Thursday after hitting his first home run in
an Oakland uniform, a two-run blast estimated to have traveled nearly
500 feet against the Diamondbacks. He was hit in the back on the
first pitch of his next at-bat.
It's always fun to hit a home run, always special, but it was nice to
get the first one for the A's out of the way. That felt great. It was
a good swing. I'm just trying to get my timing down, and it feels
like it's starting to come.
I didn't see how far it went, honestly. I didn't look. So I think
getting hit was just an accident, a coincidence that I had hit a home
run my last time up.
So far, most of my at-bats have been pretty satisfying. I'm trying to
be patient but aggressive at the same time, and it's that balance
that I'm looking for and working on. I want to try to get deep into
counts more because that's usually when good things happen for a
hitter.
I'm definitely learning something different every day, always finding
something new that I can incorporate into my program, my routine.
Some of it I get from other people, and sometimes I come up with my
own ideas, but I'm really trying to learn from everyone here.
David Justice is probably already sick of me. I'm always talking to
him, and so are a lot of the other young players. He's a model for
all of us. He's had a great career and he's a true professional, and
if you want to pick someone to emulate, he's a great choice.
The main thing I'm trying to do is just get better every day. I like
the progress I'm making, but you can't ever be satisfied. As soon as
you're satisfied, you stop learning, and when you stop learning in
this game, you're done. I've got a long way to go.
Carlos Peņa's diary appears as told to Mychael Urban, who covers the
A's for MLB.com.
