TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Houston Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies four games to two in the 2022 World Series, winning their second franchise title, also their second since 2017. Former Tri-City ValleyCat and current shortstop of the Astros, Jeremy Peña, was named the 2022 World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP). Peña, a rookie, is the second rookie to ever be named World Series MVP, and the first rookie position player to ever do so.
Peña had an impressive postseason, recording a .345 batting average with four home runs, eight runs batted in, and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 1.005. Peña had large shoes to fill, replacing former Astros shortstop Carlos Correa who left Houston last offseason for Minnesota. On top of winning the World Series and being named World Series MVP in his rookie season, Peña also became the first rookie shortstop to ever win the gold glove award.
In the regular season, Peña batted .253 with an OPS of .715, hit 22 home runs and had 63 runs batted in. Peña is not the first former ValleyCat to win the illustrious World Series MVP title, as he joins infielder Ben Zobrist and outfielder George Springer as the only other former 'Cats to do so. Peña played for Tri-City in 2018, the same season he was drafted by Houston.
