One-Year Wonder Pt. 12: Carlos Pena

Every once in awhile, the Red Sox pick up a veteran player for a year, or just the stretch run that was a star at one point that I become fascinated with. It's a player that is basically only a role player at that point in their career, but may show flashes of their old brilliance. It's so unusual to see them as a member of the Red Sox, that I try to find as many of their cards as possible. This series will be about some of those players.

CARLOS PENA
Carlos Pena played for the Red Sox? Yep, for 18 games in 2006, the Rays nemesis was with the Red Sox. This was of course before he really became the power-hitting first baseman we think about now. The once highly-touted prospect bounced around a few times, never really finding his niche. Boston was his last stop before finally finding a home in Florida.

He was not too bad in Boston, hitting .273/.351/.424. He did hit one home run and was okay in the field. After the year, Pena was allowed to leave as a free agent. Kevin Youkilis was already firmly entrenched as the starting first-baseman, so Pena did not have a position. Too bad. The next year, he hit 46 home runs and finally became the home run threat he was always rumored to be.