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'It's never too late': David Peralta's unlikely renaissance in Arizona

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - It’s so surreal to David Peralta, he needs a nightly reminder that this is happening.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - It’s so surreal to David Peralta, he needs a nightly reminder that this is happening.

He opens his iPad, watches the video of his first major-league hit for the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 1, 2014, gets misty-eyed, and falls asleep.

“I’m an emotional guy,’’ Peralta told USA TODAY Sports, “so every night before I go to bed, I want to see it. I need to see it. It’s the best feeling in the world. I can’t describe it.

“Really, I can’t describe any of this.’’

This is a washed-up pitcher who was released in 2009 by the St. Louis Cardinals.

He spent 2 ½ years playing in independent ball, cooking fries at a McDonald’s in Texas for gas money, sleeping on an air mattress with five roommates, and never making more than $1,200 a month.

Today, he is making $529,600, and on Monday night, will be making his first opening-day start in the Diamondbacks’ lineup as their right fielder. His parents, David and Celina, have made the trip from Venezuela to see for themselves.

 

“It’s such a dream for us,’’ Celina Peralta said. “He makes us so proud.’"

And, 3,000 miles away will be Chris Carminucci, the man who discovered Peralta for the Diamondbacks, watching the game on TV, in Southbury, Conn.

“Oh, my God,’’ said Carminucci, the Diamondbacks’ coordinator of independent league scouting, “what a dream come true for him and parents. I’ll be watching on TV, and I know I’ll be as emotional as anybody. We know what he’s been through, and I’ll be connected to him for the rest of my life.

“He’s the vein of my existence. I wake up every night saying, “I got to find the next David Peralta.’ They’re out there; you just have to find them.

“But this guy, his makeup, what he’s overcome, he may be one-of-a-kind.’'

Peralta dreamed one day of being a major leaguer, but as a pitcher. His idol was countryman Johan Santana, and he emulated his delivery, watched videotapes and hoped to meet him when he became a pitching star.

He signed for $35,000 with the Cardinals, but two shoulder surgeries and a 1-5 record and 5.81 ERA at Class A Johnson City in 2007 ended those aspirations. He was released in May 2009.

“That was the worst day of my life,’’ Peralta said. “You think maybe your career is over.’’

Only his father, who worked 40 years for Bridgestone Tires, had other ideas.

“I always knew he could hit,’’ said Peralta Sr. said. “ I knew if someone gave him a chance, he could do this. And if he didn’t, I had Plan B.’’

Which was?

“I thought he could be an athletic trainer for a team,’’ Peralta said.

There was no need. Peralta’s father went to work on his swing. He utilized Peralta’s quick wrists and bat speed, had him stand up against a wall, and created the perfect swing for his body. He wanted to use those wrists to attack the ball.

 

“I remember when I first saw him, he was such a good-looking hitter,’’ said Tony La Russa, Diamondbacks’ chief baseball officer. “I wanted to ask him, “Who taught you to hit?’ I waited until the end of the season, and then found it was his dad. His dad was his inspiration.

“It’s remarkable.’’

What’s more amazing is his story.

La Russa, the Cardinals’ manager during Peralta’s stint with St. Louis, doesn’t remember him in the organization. Peralta was never in major league camp. He wasn’t a prized pitching prospect. Just an undrafted kid throwing 92 mph on the backfields.

Now, here he is as the Diamondbacks’ starting right fielder, and perhaps on the verge of stardom. He batted .312 with 17 homers and 78 RBI last season, his .893 on base plus slugging ranking sixth in the NL.

 

His abandon epitomizes the Diamondbacks’ ethos, manager Chip Hale says.

It’s this drive that enabled him to make one of the most remarkable journeys in all of baseball.

Certainly, he wasn’t about to let pride stand in the way. Two years after his release, and after being inspired by former Cardinal Rick Ankiel’s transition from a failed pitcher to an outfielder, he signed with the Rio Grande Valley Whitewings of the North American League. The trouble was that he didn’t have enough money to make the 1,400-mile drive from Stuart, Fla., to Harlingen, Texas. So he worked at McDonald’s for a month.

“It was hard,’’ Peralta said, “but it just made me more determined. I knew I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life.’’

He made his money, rented a car, and proceeded to bat .392 with 17 homers and 81 RBI in 85 games. He spent the next season playing for the Wichita Wingnuts, earning $500 a month, where he caught the attention of Carminucci. He asked Peralta to meet him at old Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla., in January 2013.

"David’s father-in-law was pushing the heck out of him, saying he’s a big leaguer. Honestly, I hear it all of the time, but this time, he was 100% right.

“I started working him out, and he was getting better and better.’’

Peralta kept pestering Carminucci all spring, calling or texting virtually every day. The D’backs had no openings, so Peralta headed to Amarillo, his third independent league team in three years. He batted .352 with an .986 OPS the first 42 games, when the D-backs decided to give him a shot. They signed him for $3,000, and assigning him to their Class A Visalia team.

Some 104 minor-league games later, Peralta got a call from his Class AA Mobile (Ala.) manager, Andy Green, at 1 a.m. on June 1, 2014.

Peralta put down the honey bun he was eating, opened the door, and couldn’t believe the words coming out of Green’s mouth.

He was going to the big leagues.

“He was in disbelief,’’ Green said. “He was so emotional. He went down on the ground crying, and even went to the fetal position.

“That was the highlight of my career, and that extends to my playing career. There’s nothing sweeter in this game than telling someone what they dreamt about their entire life is coming true. And because of the quality of person he is, and all of the twists and turns his paths took, it was a special, special moment.”

Peralta was in the starting lineup the next night against the Cincinnati Reds. He got his first hit off Alfredo Simon, a single up the middle. He got a hit in his first seven games, the longest streak by a player starting his career in franchise history, and never looked back.

There’s plenty of gas money. He’s a bona fide big leaguer, perhaps a future star, and certainly an example for any indy ball dreamer. He was buoyed by his parents and wife, Jordan, who, he said, “told me everything would be fine.”

 

“It’s been a long and hard road for me,’’ he says. “I just want to be an inspiration for guys out there who haven’t made it yet. I want them to know if you work hard, and are dedicated, it can happen to you.

“It’s never too late.’’

Peralta breaks into an expansive smile, and remembers walking over to the D’backs’ tryout camp last month. He saw Carminucci, hugged him, and simply said:

“Hey, when are we going to find the next me?’’

 

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