Armando N. Almanza (born October 26, 1972) is an American former

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

, who last played for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He also played for the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

and the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. He was a hard-thrower, with a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

in the mid-90s and a big, slow

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

, but had issues with his control his entire career. He was 6"3 and weighed approximately 240 pounds.

Career

After attending Bel Air High School in his native

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

, and then pitching for

New Mexico Junior College New Mexico Junior College (NMJC) is a public junior college in unincorporated Lea County, New Mexico, near Hobbs. History and campus New Mexico Junior College first opened in the fall of 1966. With a current enrollment of 3,375. The campus is ...

, Almanza was selected by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

in the 21st round of the

1993 MLB draft The 1993 Major League Baseball draft began with first round selections on June 3, 1993. Alex Rodriguez was selected first overall by the Seattle Mariners. Other notable draftees included Chris Carpenter, Torii Hunter, Jason Varitek, Scott Rolen, ...

. Almanza pitched at the Rookie level in 1993 and missed the entire 1994 season, undergoing surgery to repair a ligament tear in his pitching elbow. He remained in the Cardinals minor league system until they traded him to the Florida Marlins after the 1998 season. Going into the 1999 season, Almanza was expected to pitch at the Triple-A level with a chance to make the Marlins roster. However, he did not pitch well in spring training or early in the regular season, and he ended up with the Marlins' Double-A affiliate, the

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

. However, after a short stint in Portland, Almanza was promoted directly from Double-A to the major leagues. Almanza was still with the Florida Marlins when they upset the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

in the

2003 World Series The 2003 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2003 season. The 99th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Florida Marlins and the American Leagu ...

. Almanza, however, did not get to participate in postseason play, as he had undergone season-ending

arthroscopic surgery Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the jo ...

on his pitching elbow that August. The Marlins released Almanza in December 2003, and he was signed by the

two days later. Almanza's 2004 contract in Atlanta paid him a base salary of $500,000 with incentives that could have bumped up his earnings to $1.1 million, including a clause worth $100,000 if he stayed on the Braves active roster through the end of the season. Almanza played mostly in the minor leagues in 2004 and 2005, which were his last two seasons in professional baseball. He appeared in 13 games for the Braves in 2004 and 6 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2005.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almanza, Armando 1972 births Living people Baseball players from Texas Major League Baseball pitchers Florida Marlins players Atlanta Braves players Arizona Diamondbacks players Sportspeople from El Paso, Texas NMJC Thunderbirds baseball players American baseball players of Mexican descent Memphis Redbirds players Jupiter Hammerheads players Greenville Braves players Richmond Braves players Fresno Grizzlies players Tucson Sidewinders players Arkansas Travelers players Arizona League Cardinals players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Calgary Cannons players Johnson City Cardinals players Peoria Chiefs players Portland Sea Dogs players Prince William Cannons players Savannah Cardinals players Tennessee Smokies players