Carlos' Corner: 'This is a different animal'
Rookie wowed by his first Opening Night
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. He's replacing Jason
Giambi as the A's first baseman and is providing for MLB.com an
exclusive daily diary for the 2002 season.
Peņa made his Oakland debut Monday as the Opening Night first baseman
against Texas -- the organization that reared him -- and went 0-for-4
with two strikeouts.
OAKLAND, Calif. -- This will always be a special night for me because
it's the first time I've been on the Opening Day roster in the big
leagues, and it's my first time representing the Oakland A's.
I played a little in the big leagues with Texas late last year, but
this is a totally different animal. This is the big show, Opening
Day.
I generally don't get nervous before a baseball game no matter what
it means, and tonight wasn't really any different. There were no
butterflies when I was getting ready, nothing during batting
practice. Everything felt very normal to me. But once we were
announced right before the game, and you see the crowd and the
fireworks and everything associated with the Opening Day celebration,
you kind of step back and say, "Wow. Here I am."
That's when I got really excited. Not nervous. Excited. And when I
get excited, I start laughing. So that's when I got my little
laughing attack out of the way.
I didn't have a great game, but the bottom line is that the team won.
That's all that matters here, right? And that's what's nice about my
situation with this team. I want to come in and make an impact right
away, but this team is so strong that I don't have to be a star. I
just have to be a part of the team and do the best I can.
Tonight was just a lot of fun. We hit the ball well, Mark Mulder
pitched an incredible game, and the atmosphere was electrifying. I
can't think of a better way to start my career in Oakland, and I hope
it's the start of something big for this team.
Carlos Peņa's diary appears as told to Mychael Urban of OaklandAthletics.com.
