Danny Almonte vs. Gavin Weir: Who Ya Got?
Danny Almonte: the name that will always be associated with the best 14 year old baseball player to ever play against 12 year olds. If you are having a difficult time recalling, Almonte was the big kid on the 2001 Little League World Series team from the Bronx. Highlighted by a 70+ mph fastball, he mowed down his younger opponents like there was no tomorrow. Though he was ineligible to pitch in the U.S. Championship game (by little league innings limit rules) and his team lost to Florida, Almonte was widely heralded for his insane stats he posted throughout that postseason and was treated like a celebrity.
Danny Almonte
Chris Gardner/AP
Armed with a 14 year old electric arm, he made the 12 year olds he faced look like mere 10 year olds. In the Mid-Atlantic Finals, he tossed a no-hitter to get his team to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. If that didn’t already put some people on notice, he threw a perfect game in his team’s first game at the LLWS, the first one in 22 years, while also punching out 16 batters in the process. Throughout the remainder of the tournament, Almonte would get two more starts on the mound, where he was equally as dominant. His three starts saw him strike out 62 of 72 batters, allow just three hits, and one unearned run.
Now let’s flash forward 20 years to this year. South Dakota, of all states, has a pitcher who may very well be even MORE dominant than Danny Almonte. His name is Gavin Weir, and as far as we know, he is 12 years old. His team is going to the championship game this Sunday, and just like Almonte 20 years ago, he will be ineligible to pitch in it because of the Little League innings limit rule. Yesterday was his last game as a pitcher of the season, which by the way, he threw a no-hitter. But the stats he tallied this entire summer are absolutely remarkable, if not almost unbelievable.
Gavin Weir
Tom E. Puskar/AP
The mini Chris Sale, which he’s been touted because of his delivery which is basically an exact replicate of Sale’s, has started eight games this postseason throughout the district, state, regionals, and LLWS. He has tossed over 600 pitches in the process and faced a total of 132 batters. Half of those eight starts resulted in a no-hitter. 114 batters he faced ended up walking back to the dugout with a K on their stat line. He walked six and gave up just one hit. ONE HIT! Out of 132 batters! And striking out 114 of those 132 batters meant that hitters had less than a 14 percent chance of doing anything other than hanging their head and walking right back toward the bench. In yesterday’s no-hitter against California, no one even made contact with one of his pitches until the third inning. Just insane.
So, hopefully nothing comes out in a few weeks informing us all that Weir is actually older than 12. If he’s truly 12, then the kid is a remarkable talent and one that we very may hear of again in the future. So, if you’re building a little league baseball team, who ya got? Almonte or mini Chris Sale?
Garett