HOUSTON — The rookie shortstop for the Houston Astros has been called many things like clutch but his college head coach says Jeremy Peña is something else: Mean.
"Jeremy Peña, on the baseball field is very a mean player," said Nick Derba, head coach at the University of Maine.
Derba remembers Peña as a raw prospect, the son of a former big leaguer from Providence, Rhode Island.
"I think he just he just wants to go somewhere he was going to play, and be cared for, and we weren't that far from home,” Derba said.
The most homers Peña hit in a college season was six.
“He came in a little bit behind offensively, but still a good offensive player,” Derba said. “But you know, you know, he had something special talent-wise from day one.”
Derba raves about Peña’s work ethic which helped transform him into the MVP of the American League Championship Series.
"You dream about this stuff when you're a kid and shoutout to my teammates,” Peña said. “We show up every single day. We stayed true to ourselves all year. Yeah, we're a step away from our, the ultimate goal.”
Sounds nice and humble, so why does Derba call him mean? There's a catch.
“You know, he is out there for blood. He's out there to take care of business,” Derba said. “He walks off that field, and he is just a normal human being, he's kind.”
The kind of baseball player with a desire to wear one more label – World Series Champion.