The tale of Juan Pena is a sad one, not just for himself but for Red Sox fans as well. For those who don't remember, Juan Pena was drafted as an 18 year old kid in 1995. After putting up impressive numbers for the Rookie League Red Sox in 1995, he graduated to the Class A Michigan Battle Cats for the 1996 season. Pena went 12-10 with a 2.97 ERA in 26 starts. He tossed 187 innings with 156 strikeouts. It was obvious the kid's fastball was going places. He hit a wall as a 20 year old in 1997 when he shuffled between A and Double-A (Trenton Thunder). He was 4-6 in single A and went 5-6 with a 4.73 ERA in Trenton. Still, he was just 20 years old and seemed to be on his way to the big leagues. In 1998 at age 20-21, he struggled for the Pawtucket Red Sox going 8-10 with a 4.43 ERA. Still, he had 146 strikeouts in 139 innings. Know who else struggled in AAA at age 21? Current Sox top prospect Henry Owens,who got hit hard after being called up to Pawtucket last year. A rash of injuries and ineffectiveness in 1999 led to Pena being called up to Boston.
On May 8, 1999, the Red Sox were 14-14 after a Pedro Martinez shut-out the game before brought them to .500. It would be Juan's major league debut against Mo Vaughn and the Anaheim Angels at Fenway Park. Pena got Darren Erstad and Andy Sheets (00 Sox) before striking out Big Mo to end the top of the first. Juan got Garrett Anderson to pop up then struck out Troy Glaus and Todd Greene in the top of the second. Staked to a 1-0 lead, Tim Unroe struck out to begin the top of the third. Matt Walbeck bunted back to the mound for the second out but Jeff Huson walked. Darren Erstad tied the game with a double but Pena struck Sheets out again to retire the side. That's 5 strikeouts in 3 innings and only gave up the one hit to Erstad. The Sox offense got Pena another run in the bottom of the third and Juan capitalized on the break in the top of the fourth. Facing three very good players of the era, Pena got Vaughn to ground out, Anderson to strike out and Glaus to ground out. Still leading 2-1 in the 5th, Pena got Greene to pop out and struck out Unroe before allowing a single to Walbeck. Juan got Huson to line out to end the inning. In the top of the 6th, Erstad flew out, Sheets struck out for the third time but Vaughn singled. Pena dug in and got Anderson to ground out to end the threat. Pena finished with 6 innings pitched allowing three hits, one run and struck out seven. The Sox offense put four runs on the board in the bottom of the 6th and Pena gave way to Derek Lowe, yes, the same post-season hero from 2004. Lowe pitched three scoreless innings and preserved the save for Pena.
Six days later Pena was matched up against Toronto Blue Jays ace David Wells (05 Sox) in Toronto. In the bottom of the first, Pena got Shannon Stewart to ground out before Craig Grebeck (01 Sox) singled. Shawn Greene struck out but Carlos Delgado singled. Tony Fernandez lined out to end the threat. Pena breezed through the second in a flourish by striking out Willie Greene and Jose Cruz before getting Pat Kelly to ground out. Future St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Matheny led off the bottom of the third with a ground-out but Stewart singled. Stewart was erased when Jason Varitek gunned him down trying to steal and Grebeck walked. Green lined out to end it as Pena had now pitched 8 scoreless innings out of 9. Pena continued to impress by striking out the side in the bottom of the 4th wrapped around a single. The Sox offense finally got to Wells by putting up 2 runs in the top of the 5th. Pena got into trouble when Kelly bunted his way on and Matheny reached on a slow roller, but a line shot by Stewart was snatched by Nomar Garciaparra who stepped on second to double off Kelly. Grebeck grounded out to end the inning. Keeping his hot streak, Juan worked around a walk to retire the side with no damage in the bottom of the 6th. A Jason Varitek homer gave the Sox a 3-0 lead and Pena came on for the bottom of the 7th. Cruz grounded out, Kelly popped up and Matheny struck out to end the inning. That was it for Pena as Derek Lowe and lefty Rheal Cormier got the last 6 outs to preserve the win. Pena pitched 7 innings of shut out ball, walking two, giving up six hits and striking out seven batters.
Pena had won both his starts, pitching 13 innings with only one run allowed on nine hits and 14 strikeouts. Injuries derailed him from making any further contributions in 1999, a shame since they really could have used him in the 99 playoffs. Still, the Red Sox made it to the American League Championship series where they lost in 5 to the New York Yankees. Sox manager Jimy Williams made very questionable decisions by releasing two starters and leaving both Tim Wakefield and Reggie Jefferson off the post-season roster. Imagine if the Sox had Tim Wakefield or Pena against the Yankees instead of Kent Mercker? Going into the 2000 season, Bret Saberhagen would be lost for the season and the Sox signed Jeff Fassero to replace him. The rotation looked like Pedro Martinez, Pedro's brother Ramon, Pete Schourek, Fassero and most likely Juan Pena. Pedro was clearly the ace of the time, but Pena was going to be the ace of the future it seemed.
It never happened. Juan started spring training with a flourish, but a line drive during one start shattered his elbow. Pena would miss the entire season and most of 2001. The 2000 Sox finished 3 games behind the Yankees as the Sox were forced to hand the ball to rookies like Tomo Ohka, spot starter Dan Smith and a washed up Steve Ontiveros when they could have gone with a healthy Pena. Fans were hoping Pena could come back for the 2001 stretch run after showing amazing promise in 1999. It didn't happen, the Sox plummeted out of contention and Pena struggled in Single A with his rebuilt arm, going 0-3 with a hideous 5.18 ERA. Still, most pitchers take two years to heal from surgery and fans looked for him to rebound in 2002. The rotation was improved from the previous two seasons with Pedro, converted reliever Lowe, John Burkett, Dustin Hermanson and junkballer Casey Fossum. If Pena could dominate hitters again, he could step into replace Hermanson or Fossum by season's end. The opportunity to replace Hermanson came the first week of the season when Dustin got hurt and missed the next 3 months. Unfortunately, Pena wasn't the same. Losing the ability to blow away hitters, his junk was worthless and he got lit up in Pawtucket. He was just 4-11 with a 5.33 ERA with just 59 strikeouts in 82 innings. Sox management knew that he was never going to be the phenom with his arm permanently damaged and they cut him loose after the 2002 season. He signed with the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2003 season but was lit up in Double and Triple A before being released. His big league career was over at the age of 26.
Its a shame things ended the way they did. For two weeks in May of 1999, the heir apparent to Pedro Martinez seemed to be right around the corner. Even if Pena was a 13-12 or a 11-10 pitcher, it still would have been better than some of the crap that preceded Curt Schilling, Pedro and Lowe in 2004. Again, the Sox fought for first place much of 2000 and 2001 and a healthy Juan Pena would have given the Sox a better chance to win both seasons. To be fair, what doomed the 2000 Sox was a lack of offense. Still, if Pena pitched for at least 10 years, he still would have been around in 2009 long after Martinez and Schilling were gone. Still, Sox fans can't complain too much, the Sox did manage to win the World Series with great pitching in 2004, 2007 and 2013 (Pena would have been 36 years old in 2013). On the other hand, could they have made the playoffs in 2000, 2001 or 2002 when they really could have used Juan? We'll never know.
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