𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐀: 𝐀 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐍

 By Rene Torres

Chale Pena with admirers

His legacy originated when playing barefooted in the dusty grounds of the sandlots in the Southmost section of Brownsville, Texas. The neighborhood was considered one of the poorest in the city. You could say that America’s pastime saved him from the woes of life. If you would ask Chale about his days on the sandlot—he would say that those games were more competitive than Little League baseball. He was the pride of the “Barrio,” that when choosing-up, he was first to be chosen as his talent was well defined at an early age.

Throughout his journey on the diamond his urgency to be the best he could be led to many brushes with success. So, it’s only fitting to honor his name along with other notables that transcendent the ordinary. He went from All-Barrio to the Hall of Fame!!

Fastpitch legends:

On January 31, 2025, the board of directors of the “Fastpitch Legends of Greater Houston will present the inductees in a morning ceremony. Chale is among 4 others that will “Don the stage.” For most of his softball career he found a home playing for the Baytown Hawks. He led the team in winning the prestigious Latin American State tournament 7 times. In 2007, he was the MVP of the tournament.

It’s astonishing that within those seasons he was an All-Tournament selection 17 times. The record book reveals that Chale played in 31 consecutive tournaments recording the following numbers: played in 202 games; hitting 313 hits; 54 home runs; 192 RBIs and scored 221 runs. Playing with the California Lyons for six years he travels throughout the country participating in ASA major national tournaments and in NAFA world championships in Hutchinson, Kansas, Midland Michigan, Eau, Wisconsin, (where he was elected to the All-World team in 2002), Salem, Oregon and Lancaster California.

Beyond our borders:

 

Chale Pena

By 1990, the once barefooted Southmost Kid, now wearing cleats and using a glove traveled the world to compete against international foes. He was a member of the National Mexico City team for 11 years. The following is a list of international tournaments he competed in: In Cuba he was a Bronze medalist; in 1992 competed in the World Championships in Manilla , Philippines ending with a batting average .521, 4th in the world; in 1993, took him to the Central American Games in Monterrey leading the team with a 460 batting average; he played in the Pan American Games in Venezuela batting 333; and finally taking his talent to Johannesburg, South Africa. After a decade of rubbing elbows against the best in the world he participated in 1,240 games and with his mighty swing collecting 412 home runs.

In closing, Chale is one of kind, the seasons might be over for him, but the diamonds are forever as he still roams the field with the silver hair group.  At 6’5 he was a giant that carried a big stick and made spectacular catches on the hot corner. There are many other untold highlights that will surface perhaps in a future article. In 2000 he established the “The South Texas Fast Pitch Academy,” where today he shares his knowledge and skills to the youth (in the Austin area) whose desire is to make softball their game of choice.

See you at the Diamond!