PHILADELPHIA – A few months after Albert Almora Jr. became the first player drafted by a first-year, big-name Cubs front office, Anthony Rizzo looked at the teenager as they stood in the kid’s backyard in Miami and said with a smile:
“Don’t screw it up.”
Now 3½ years after those first two core players Theo Epstein acquired spent the afternoon in South Florida getting acquainted, they reunited in Philadelphia Tuesday as teammates on the team with the best record in the major leagues.
“It’s a dream come true,” said a sleep-deprived, emotional Almora when he joined the team for his major-league debut Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park. “This is a great feeling, and I’m just taking this all in right now.”
Almora, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2012 draft, replaces outfielder Jorge Soler, who was placed on the disabled list with a hamstring injury suffered Monday night.
He debuted as a pinch hitter in Tuesday’s sixth inning, grounding out to third on a 1-0 pitch.
Almora, 22, is the youngest of the Cubs’ touted young players – three months younger than Addison Russell – but it has been a longer, bumpier road to the big leagues for the Gold Glove-caliber center fielder than it was for Kris Bryant, Russell or Kyle Schwarber.
One of the bigger reasons the road got tougher the last two seasons also was the biggest reason for the emotions when Almora got the call from Marty Pevey, his manager at AAA Iowa, late Monday night.
He called home as soon as Pevey was off the phone and has his mom wake his dad.
“It was unbelievable. I can’t even begin to describe how that phone call went,” said Almora, whose dad has battled prostate cancer for more than two years and is in the final rounds of radiation treatment. “After we talked about what’s going to happen, we just talked about life a little bit.
“I know he wishes he could be here. But his health comes before the game of baseball. He’s doing well. I’m just happy where he’s at right now.”
Never mind where the son stood on this day.
“I’m right where I need to be,” said Almora, who added the “Jr.” to his name when his dad became ill. “I feel like I’ve learned so much about myself in these last couple of years, and I’m just super excited.”
Considered the best outfielder in the organization, Almora is an impact fielder, who for the first time in three seasons got off to a strong start at the plate for AAA Iowa.
“Obviously, our paths to get here in development were different. I took the college route; so did Kyle. But we all knew he was going to be here at some point,” said Bryant, Almora’s former spring roommate. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes a big impact in the time that he has. I’m excited to see what he can do.”
Manager Joe Maddon said he plans to use Almora a lot like he did Soler, as a part-time starter in left, with an emphasis on matching him against lefty starters when possible.
Almora, who has been a more consistent hitter since Miguel Montero spent a rehab week with him at AA Tennessee last year, said he just cares about helping where and when Maddon says.
“All I told him was come to play,” said Montero, who sensed an attitude lapse in Almora’s second go-round at AA. “I saw him this year [on another rehab] in AAA and he was a totally different guy. He came ready to play, man. I’m so proud of him. He’s been doing the right things. And here he is.”
Almora, who has hit a combined .324 with an .813 OPS at two stops since the Montero talk, recognized from the start his unique place in Epstein’s organizational overhaul as the team president’s first draft pick.
Almora called it “an honor” and “huge responsibility” that day in Miami 3½ years ago.
Teammates who know him best say he’s ready to deliver on that.
“He’s just very mature for his age and just how he carries himself,” Bryant said. “He’s a 30-year-old in a 22-year-old body.”
