U.S. Champions… Again!
by George Diaz
Success stories don’t just appear out of thin air. Achieving great things starts with a strong foundation, which the Altamonte Baseball Academy (ABA) has been fortunate to have from day one.
The Altamonte 12-and-under All-Stars baseball team recently traveled to Branson, Missouri as defending United States and World Champions in the Cal Ripken World Series. The boys secured the U.S. Championship once again before losing to Japan in the International Championship in August.
The boys’ overall success involves a backstory that dates to 2014, when Altamonte Springs City Manager Frank Martz resolved to upgrade the city’s youth league baseball program.
The ABA and Altamonte Fastpitch Academy (AFA) were both launched under that directive, and the results have been impressive.
If You Build It, They Will Come
The number of players in the city’s youth league baseball has grown from 180 to nearly 700. Demand now exceeds capacity. Playing fields have been upgraded to turf instead of grass, circumventing the usual Florida downpours that can make grass fields unplayable.
People have noticed. Altamonte Springs will host the Babe Ruth World Series in the 10-year-old division in 2027 and 2028, bringing national and international teams to Seminole County and Altamonte Springs.
The Cal Ripken Baseball program and its associated World Series are a part of the larger Babe Ruth League system, which organizes tournaments for different age groups, including the Cal Ripken divisions for younger players and the Babe Ruth divisions for older players.
At the heart of the Altamonte program’s success, are the coaches and players. The core group of players, who have been together since 2021, finished second in the Babe Ruth tournament as 9-year-olds, third as 10-year-olds, won the World Series title as 11-year-olds, and finished second in this year’s tournament. The team’s overall record since 2022 is 60-10.
“This is a great group of young men who have spent five years focused and committed to each other and to learning how to play the game the right way at a high level,” says team manager Ken Kelly.
Adds Ken, “They have earned everything they have been able to achieve and are great ambassadors for the City of Altamonte Springs. I could not be prouder to have spent the last five years working with them to achieve some of their dreams.”
The boys played seven tournament games in Branson, winning six before losing to Japan, 8-2. At the end of pool play, Altamonte was the No. 1 overall seed out of 42 teams, going 3-0 and outscoring their opponents, 35-2.
The team then won three more games, against Manoa, Hawaii, Northern Burlington, New Jersey, and Missouri Central Ozarks before facing Japan.
“We would have had to play our best game, and we didn’t,” says Ken. “Having said that, we played great and accomplished one of our two goals. Our first goal was to win the U.S. Championship, and the second goal was obviously the World Championship. So, 3,000 teams started out [nationwide]; the two best teams in the world ended up playing. And we were one of those two teams – that’s why I’m okay.”
Top players for Altamonte Springs included:
Graham Camara, who was outstanding in the tournament, throwing a complete game two-hitter to beat Ozarks for the U.S. Championship.
Cooper Harris, who hit .545, wreaked havoc on the basepaths and played center field flawlessly.
Fernando Moncada, who hit .482 and had an on-base percentage of .619.
Yhosiah Diaz, who hit .400 with some clutch hits and RBIs.
The city will celebrate the team’s incredible season with a ceremony at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, September 20 at Cranes Roost Park in Altamonte Springs, and the community is invited to come out and show its support.
Forever in Their Hearts
Ken, 75, will now step away as team manager, after 10 seasons coaching two teams in different divisions. He has been in the game for 53 seasons, a run that includes coaching the Georgetown University baseball team and serving as a regional coordinator for the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team. Ken is a significant part of the academy’s legacy and epitomizes the vision that Frank had years ago.
“He’s given so much of his time to being on the field,” says Frank, “and he deserves the effort from everyone he’s leaving behind that we carry on and continue to get better.”
As for the Altamonte Baseball Academy boys Ken has coached, he has a few parting words.
“Their best baseball is still ahead of them,” says Ken. “I could not be prouder of the players, my coaches (Justin Harris, Kevin Stephenson, and Steve Iannini), the many ABA staff members who assisted us along this journey, or the honor of representing the City of Altamonte Springs, which has been so supportive of us since day one.”