2019 Most Inspirational Player Award Goes To …

By Rabbi Rabbs
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Updated: July 10, 2019

(Diego Falomir, no. 34, the short player with his back turned, shakes hands with all-stars representing Chula Vista’s Eastlake Little League. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)

California District 42 concluded its 2019 Little League tournament on Sunday. I yield to the experts. Let them argue over who proved to be the tourney’s most valuable player. However, my choice for who earned the honor as the most inspirational player is clear. That award goes hands down to the short kid that played his heart out for that underdog team that gave their all.

In Kainoa Baptista, Worthy Of A Disney Movie, I wrote: “Rabbi Rabbs is not similar to most baseball writers that tend to focus their feature articles on star players. Instead, your favorite crazy rabbi prefers the Disney tearjerker stories. Find the misfit, the one girl on the team, the pitcher with only one arm, or the deaf outfielder … the underdog, the over-achiever, the kid that has overcome all odds.” At this year’s District 42 tournament, I found the player that most exemplifies those qualities. He overcame adversity. He lived the dream of reaching all-stars despite being born with a medical condition. Meet Diego Falomir. He is this year’s tearjerker.

Short.

Falomir played for Southwest Little League of South San Diego. He was the shortest player in that league’s Majors division. That is due to his rare physical disorder. Falomir was born with a form of dwarfism. It is called achondroplasia. People with that usually have short arms and legs.

(Diego Falomir of South San Diego’s Southwest Little League stands
with his teammates. He was reportedly the shortest player in the
California District 42 tournament. Photo courtesy of Jon Bigornia.)

Many readers may not have heard of Southwest, nor of Falomir. That might be because both are small. That league’s president considers Falomir an inspiration and a metaphor for Southwest.

“We are not the largest league in District 42,” President Robb Lewis told CaliSports News. “But a story about Diego, a little guy that keeps on pushing, is like the story of our league in general.”

Overcame adversity.

Diego’s mother, Rosio Torres Falomir, reported to CSN that her 12-year-old son only stands exactly four-feet high. During this past season at Southwest, “every team we played against, he was the smallest kid in the game,” she said. “The other teams thought he couldn’t hit. They’d say, ‘he’s too small.’ Then, he’d whack the ball, and they were like, ‘wow! He can actually hit.'”

Yep. Diego can definitely hit. But, do not just take Rabbi Rabbs’ word for it. Here is what others said: “That kid can hit,” Steve Loa, director of umpires for District 42, told CSN. According to Cinco Inzunza, president of South San Diego’s Luckie Waller Little League, “that kid can rip.”

(Diego Falomir doubles in 2018 practice game. Footage courtesy of Rosio Torres Falomir.)

Falomir is short, but Inzunza said Diego is tall in heart. The second baseman/outfielder showed tremendous drive throughout his Little League career, according to his coaches that CaliSports News interviewed. First, I reached out to Ramon Reyes III. He coached Falomir for a reported six seasons, starting from Minors divisions. This year, Reyes served as the head coach for Falomir’s team in Majors. Rosio said that Reyes “inspired Diego and has worked with him so much.”

A natural.

Reyes told CSN, “My first memories of Diego were of him naturally hitting the ball harder and further than all of the other kids, and of him always being the last one to leave. Diego would stay after practice, and toss the ball in the air, and hit it over and over again until his mom said it was time to go, or it got too dark. He would plead with his mom, ‘just one more’. She always agreed.”

Tony Bejarano served as Reyes’ assistant coach in Majors. Bejarano expounded on Falomir’s dedication to the game. The assistant coach said, “Diego is the type of player that when you say ‘practice’, he’s always ready to go. He’s always up to play anywhere, anytime, against anyone.”

The short ballplayer is popular. “I’ve had the privilege of coaching Diego,” Reyes told CaliSports News. “He has always been one of my favorite players, and a favorite among his teammates.”

(Diego Falomir with Ramon Reyes III. Photo courtesy of Rosio Torres Falomir.)

Upon hearing that, CSN reached out to Falomir’s teammates for confirmation. Sure enough, the first players I contacted supported Reyes’ claim. Rubén Rincón, 13, reportedly met Falomir six years ago when the two played together in Little League Minors. Since then, they became close. “I am glad to be his friend,” Rincón told CSN. “Diego is a positive, energetic person that is always eager to play baseball. He always has a smile on his face when I see him out on the field.”

A popular player.

Rubén’s brother Leonardo Rincón, 12, played together with Falomir on Southwest’s all-stars. He told CSN, “I consider Diego one of my best friends, and I am very thankful that I have a friend like Diego. Not only is Diego very good in baseball, but he is also a very nice person. He is always picking you up when you’re sad. Diego is very nice to everyone he meets.”

The Rincóns agreed that Falomir plays hard, but “like everyone, he sometimes makes mistakes,” Rubén explained. “But he never lets that stop him,” Leonardo said. “He gets back up and keeps on swinging,” Rubén said. And, “he would start working ten times harder,” Leonardo added.

According to Falomir’s coaches, in addition to playing hard, the short youngster plays extremely well. “Diego is a special talent. Boy, can he hit,” Reyes told CSN. “He is one of maybe two kids that I never had to mess with his swing. It is flawless when he is composed. One thing I always liked about Diego is that he can hit the ball with authority to all fields.”

He can hit, and with power.

Bejarano added, “Diego has one of the nicest swings, and hits bombs. We all know he can go yard. He has the power.” Reyes explained: “Now, we usually just go over the mental part of hitting, and talk about his approach at the plate. This year, Diego matured as a hitter so much so that I recommended he play a level up (Junior division), while still playing on our team (Majors), to challenge himself. He’s had his best season as a hitter, and even hit his first home run.”

(Diego Falomir hits first home run. Footage courtesy of Rosio Torres Falomir.)

Falomir belted that homer for his team in Majors. Bejarano recalled that moment vividly. The coach told CSN, “In the middle of the season, Diego came up to bat, and I had to remind him that with proper mechanics and technique, he could hit a home run. He got back in the batter’s box, and the next pitch he crushed dead center for his first dinger. That smile on his face could light up any dark day. After that, Diego was more hungry to get another. And, Diego showed it!!”

It is okay to grab tissues. My tears are flowing, too. Reyes elaborated on that epic moment.

A tearjerker.

“Diego had been trying to pull the ball off of a lefty. So, we talked about him hitting the ball to the right-center gap. He was a bit early on that pitch, and hit it out to straight away center field. He came close to hitting home runs on many occasions, but that was his first,” Reyes said.

Leonardo shared his own reaction caused by his short friend’s home run. “I was very happy for Diego because he always got so close and he never gave up. Diego is always positive and that is one thing that he does that helps him be successful,” Leonardo told CSN.

(Teammates celebrate Diego Falomir’s homer. Footage courtesy of Rosio Torres Falomir.)

In addition to hitting that dinger, Falomir reportedly achieved another milestone this past season. According to Reyes, Falomir recorded a whopping eight RBIs in one game. How about that? The coach told CaliSports News that Falomir “might have led our team if not the entire league in RBIs this year, but I couldn’t tell you how many because we lost the score book.”

Anyway, as it turned out, Falomir never followed Reyes’ advice to join the Junior division. Instead, Diego simultaneously played in Majors and Intermediate levels. Falomir also played in what are termed as travel ball and Fall ball. Playing on two or three teams year-round seems par for the course within District 42, as I explained in District 42 Monster Ready To Rumble.

Heavy underdogs.

At the District 42 tournament, Southwest found itself vastly over-matched. Falomir’s team has nothing of which to be ashamed. In that world-renown district featuring Little League’s “three-headed monster“, Southwest finished with a 1-2 record. Both losses came against perennial powerhouse Eastlake Little League of Chula Vista. “Playing Eastlake was hard,” Falomir told CaliSports News’ Director of Little League, when I met with the inspiring young all-star last week at Southwest’s ballpark. Despite the losses, the shortest player on the field said he feels good to be selected to his league’s all-star team, and that he enjoyed playing in the tournament. “It was good competition,” Falomir said. As the Rincóns stated, Diego only sees the positives.

The photograph below shows Falomir with his Southwest Little League teammates smiling, laughing, and enjoying the moment. Diego’s mother snapped the photo immediately after Eastlake eliminated Southwest from the District 42 tournament on July 3. Seeing is believing, right? Not even a second loss to Eastlake removed a smile from Diego’s face.

(From left to right: Diego Falomir, Leonardo Rincón, Armando Agueta III, Benjamin Castillo, Joseph Navarro.
Photo courtesy of Rosio Torres Falomir.)

Personally, I relate to Southwest, because its all-star squad refused to practice on Sundays. Some baseball folks believe in practicing every day. They have difficulty grasping how any team could pass on valuable practice time. But, I would never participate on Saturdays. So I get it.

Another inspirational short player.

One of Falomir’s favorite professional baseball players is José Altuve. The Houston Astros’ star greatly inspires Falomir, because Altuve is one of Major League Baseball’s shortest players. He stands only 5′-6″. Yet, Altuve is a fantastic hitter. He is a three-time American League batting champion. He twice hit more than 20 home runs in a season. In 2017, Altuve was named that league’s most valuable player. His nickname is Little Giant. In a way, Falomir is Southwest’s Little Giant. Throughout his Little League career, Falomir wore Altuve’s number 27. However, during all-stars, Southwest issued to him number 34. Also, just like Altuve, Falomir plays second-base.

(Aaron Judge and José Altuve.
Photo courtesy of Bob Levey/Getty Images.)

Chasing the dream of becoming the next Altuve has motivated the short Little Leaguer for the past several years. Diego’s grandmother, Carmen Torres, witnessed her grandson’s longtime passion for baseball. She often drives Diego to practices, and attends his games. Carmen told CSN, “he always wants to play baseball, not watch TV.” According to Diego’s mother, the youngster originally played soccer, but “he hated it. I put him in t-ball. He loved it,” Rosio said.

The happy Disney ending.

Finally, as other children often picked on me my while I was young, I asked Falomir if kids ever picked on him. Fortunately, the short kid said “no”. That surprised me, because children can be mean. Hearing Falomir’s answer lifted my spirits. Perhaps, that is the happy Disney ending to this story. I am rooting for Diego to become the next Altuve. Falomir’s chances of fulfilling that dream seem remote, but we learned Southwest’s smallest all-star has a big heart. Besides, Little League’s Little Giant already overcame tremendous adversity just to reach his district’s tournament. And, of course, one can wish upon a star. Until then, Go Diego !! Let’s Go SoCal !!