Mat-Su Miners next step for Almonte

PALMER — Since he was a young teenager, Danny Almonte has received a lot of attention — good and bad.

The Western Oklahoma State College sophomore is one of the top junior college players in the nation, a first-team preseason All-American who is hitting .512 at the plate and who holds a 1.38 earned run average on the mound.

But regardless of what Almonte has accomplished in recent years, he’s still known as the 14-year-old Dominican pitcher from the Bronx who went from Little League hero to the center of a baseball scandal.

It’s been nearly eight years since Almonte was tabbed as baseball’s next great. He was supposedly a 12-year-old lefty with a ferocious fastball who was taking baseball by storm with his play, and his perfect game, during the 2001 Little League World Series.

But reports surfaced that Almonte was not 12. He was actually 14 and his father, Felipe, was accused of forging his birth certificate before Danny was moved to New York.

Those reports were soon confirmed and now the 21-year-old native of Moca, Dominican Republic, is out to prove he can play baseball at the highest level. And he’ll try to do that as a member of the Mat-Su Miners.

Matt Kruse, Almonte’s pitching coach at WOSC, is confident Almonte has the tools, and the character, to succeed at the next level in baseball.

Almonte just needs a shot, Kruse said.

“All that he’s had to deal with, last year he hit .497 and was 7-1 on the mound,” Kruse said by phone from his office in Altus, Okla., on Saturday. “It’s a shame a guy like this isn’t getting a chance.”

The WOSC coaching staff gave Almonte an opportunity after his short stint in the Independent League. Almonte went undrafted out of high school, despite a standout career at Monroe High School in New York. He was a high school All-American and a league champion.

But as hard as Almonte and those around him try to shake the baggage from the Little League age scandal, Almonte continues to be seen as tarnished in the eyes of baseball scouts, Kruse said.

“Adults put him in that position,” Kruse said. “I’ve never seen a 14-year-old doctor a birth certificate. With everything that’s going on with baseball, that was perceived as cheating. But that was seven years ago. He was a kid at 14.”

Kruse said Almonte, a versatile athlete who stands out on the mound, at the plate and in the field, could have gone to play summer ball in a number of places. But Kruse thought the Mat-Su Miners and the Alaska Baseball League would be the best fit for Almonte, for a few reasons.

First and foremost, Kruse will be the pitching coach on the Mat-Su Miner staff, and will be around to help Almonte. Kruse admits the WOSC coaches shelter the player. During Almonte’s two years with the program, the coaches have allowed only one reporter to talk to Almonte about his past.

Kruse said it’s in the best interest of the young Dominican who is trying to separate himself from that controversy.

But also, Kruse said, success in the ABL could lead to a shot to play professionally.

“This gives him a chance to play against some of the best college players in one of the best leagues in the country,” Kruse said. “I’m thankful to (Mat-Su Miners general manager) Pete and Denise (Christopher) for giving him another chance.”

Pete Christopher, Mat-Su’s general manager since 2003, admitted he hesitated when Kruse initially asked the Miners to sign Almonte. Christopher remembers watching the Little League World Series 2001, seeing Almonte pitch and wondering how that lanky left-hander could actually be 14.

Christopher, a former Major League Baseball scout with the Kansas City Royals, had seen players lie about their ages before.

“We had one kid try out for the Royals, four years in a row, always the same age,” Christopher said.

Some of MLB’s top stars have been found to have lied about their age.

According to an Associated Press story published on Wednesday, Major League Baseball is investigating more than 40 cases involving Dominican Republic prospects suspected of lying about their age upon signing professional contracts, according to the league’s vice president of international affairs.

Former American League Most Valuable Player Miguel Tejada, a Domincan-born player, was found to be two years older than originally thought when he signed to play for the Houston Astros, as said in a story published in the April 17, 2008, edition of the Houston Chronicle.

He was 33, not 31.

Another Dominican player and MLB All-Star Vladimir Guerrero, of the Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim, admitted earlier this month that he was also a year older.

It took Christopher “a couple of months” to decide whether to sign Almonte.

“The thing that ticked me off is he beat a lot of kids in the Little League World Series. They got knocked out by him, but what happens to them? That stuck with me,” Christopher said. “But it was his father forced him into it.”

Finally, Christopher decided Almonte deserved another shot to prove himself.

“Denise told me everybody deserves a second chance,” Christopher said. “We decided to give him a second chance to do things right.”

Almonte’s been labeled a cheater, but Kruse is quick to defend the player’s character.

“He’s a great teammate. The guys (on the Miners) are going to love him,” Kruse said. “He’s a great guy. You never even think about all that other stuff when you’re around him. When you’re around him, he’s just Danny.”

Most of all, Kruse said Almonte is ready to shed the baggage from the past and prove himself.

“The stage he’s on, he’s going to have a chip on his shoulder,” Kruse said. “He’s excited. He knows the opportunity he has to represent himself.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.