El diecisiete de mayo/May 17th

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Photo from mlb.com. Click HERE. 
¡Feliz cumpleaños a ... Carlos Peña! (1978-     )

Carlos Peña is a 14 year veteran of the MLB who was first drafted (in the first round) by the Rangers in 1998. Originally from the Dominican Republic, he moved with his family (his parents and three younger siblings) to the United States when he was 12. They at first lived with an uncle of his. Peña attended Haverhill High School in Massachusetts and then Wright State University in Ohio for a quarter until transferring to Northeastern, where he studied electrical engineering and led the Huskies to the NCAA tournament. In 2008, Peña was tied for most home runs (39) in the American. He was also nominated that year by the Rays for the Roberto Clemente Award, which recognizes players for exemplifying on-field achievement and sportsmanship. In 2009, Peña was an American League All-Star. He had 286 career home runs and 818 RBIs. Over his career, in addition to the Rangers, he played for the Oakland Athletics (2002), the Detroit Tigers (2002-2005), the Boston Red Sox (2006), the Tampa Bay Rays (2007-2010, '12), the Chicago Cubs (2011), the Houston Astros (2013), and the Kansas City Royals (2013). After his retirement from professional baseball, he was hired as an analyst (in December 2014) by MLB. He has also ventured into producing movies (see his interview about the short Christian film Men of Might, HERE). Peña and his wife have three children and are active in various philanthropic causes, including aiding victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Peña had been in the Dominican Republic with his family at the time and felt the quake. As he told a reporter for the Eagle-Tribune afterwards, being a part of the relief effort was life-affirming: "There are so many examples in this world of how we are disappointed in the human spirit, so many things you can point out and say the world is just going to shambles ... And you see the opposite happen - people united for a good cause, people showing their good heart. I think it just goes to show you we're not doomed, that the human spirit is still capable of great things" (Read more HERE).

For resources for teaching Spanish, Level 1 through AP, CLICK HERE.

Other May 17th birthdays of note:

Jacint Verdaguer I Santaló (1845-1902): Catalan poet and Father in the Catholic Church. He was born in the province of Barcelona.



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