Haverhill native Carlos Pena chatted with WHAV Sports Director Paul Ryan about the upcoming Red Sox ALCS games. (MLB Network screenshot)
If former Major League Baseball slugger Carlos Pena has his way, the Boston Red Sox will head all the way to the World Series, the Haverhill native explained in an exclusive interview with WHAV Sports Director Paul Ryan earlier this week.
Appearing on Wednesday night’s “Good Sports” talk show with Morgan and Tommy Ryan, Haverhill High grad Pena—who retired in 2014 with 286 career home runs—praised the “superior” ball club after their ALDS series win over the New York Yankees.
“Tuesday’s game was more proof how well-equipped the Red Sox are,” Pena said. “They’ve shown it all year and they’re able to be creative. That was outstanding. This is an 108-win ball club. That doesn’t come around very often and throughout the series they’ve shown that they’re a superior ball club.”
Clinching the series with an Oct. 9 4-3 victory over the Yankees, the Sox have home field advantage over the Houston Astros when they open the ALCS Saturday at Fenway Park. Calling the Sox-Astros matchup an “incredible battle,” MLB Network commentator Pena is confident in the Sox’s World Series chances.
“I like the Sox,” he told Ryan. “I think the Astros have played really well at Fenway Park—that’s the one thing that concerns me. It’s going to be really important for the Sox to make sure they get their home games.”
Pena’s players to watch this weekend? Pitchers Chris Sale and Craig Kimbrel and outfielder Mookie Betts, whom Pena was bold enough to call one of the greatest players in baseball.
Catch more “Good Sports” every Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. only on 97.9 WHAV FM. The show is also available to be streamed online at WHAV dot net or using the TuneIn app.