Dominican official confirms Almonte is a teen-ager
Aug. 31, 2001
SportsLine.com wire reports
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Little League star pitcher Danny Almonte is 14 years old, not 12, a Dominican official said Friday in a finding that could strip the Bronx team of its third-place finish in the World Series.
Little League officials will meet to decide what to do about the ineligible Danny Almonte.(AP)
Victor Romero of the government records office investigated Almonte's birth documents in his hometown of Moca, about 90 miles north of the capital of Santo Domingo.
A birth certificate suggesting the boy was 12 was not convincing, Romero said.
"There are a number of contradictions in the second birth certificate," he said. "Neither the witnesses, the hospital, nor the local authorities could confirm Almonte was born in Jamao."
Almonte's mother, Sonia Rojas Breton, has a handwritten, photocopied birth certificate that said he was born April 7, 1989. But Moca's official records office has another birth certificate that said he was born April 7, 1987.
Another handwritten document from Dr. Toribio Bencosme Hospital in Moca states a woman named Rojas gave birth to a boy there on April 7, 1987. Rojas, who says she gave birth to Almonte at home in the nearby town of Jamao, insists all documents but hers are false.
The boy was brought to New York by his father, Felipe de Jesus Almonte, who has insisted his son was 12.
Little League rules prohibit any player born before Aug. 1, 1988, from competing this year.
Stephen D. Keener, president and chief executive officer of Little League baseball in South Williamsport, Pa., has said the organization would accept the government's findings and would meet to discuss what action should be taken against Almonte's team, the Rolando Paulino All-Stars of the Bronx, N.Y.
A telephone call to Little League headquarters was not immediately returned.
Joann Dalmau, a spokeswoman for the Rolando Paulino team, said after the ruling that league officials had been "lied to by the father. The father is the one who kept insisting he was 12. ... He provided to us documents to show that he was 12.
"We don't know exactly why this man did this," she said.
"We received documents saying that Danny was 12, and that's the only reason Danny was accepted in this league," Dalmau said, adding that Paulino would hold a news conference later in the day.
She also said Felipe de Jesus Almonte and his son were in the New York area but would not say where.
Danny Almonte was the most dominating pitcher at the World Series this year, throwing a perfect game in the opener against Apopka, Fla. He struck out the first 15 Apopka batters in the first perfect game in 44 years at the tournament.
He followed that with a one-hit shutout in the U.S. semifinals against an Oceanside, Calif., team that came in averaging .333 with five batters at .500 or better.
He finished the tournament with 46 strikeouts, giving up only three hits in three starts. A run scored in the last inning of his final game was the only run scored on Almonte all summer.
Behind Almonte's pitching and a solid defense, the Bronx team went 4-1 at the World Series and finished third. The team's only loss was a rematch against Apopka in which Almonte couldn't pitch because of a rule that prohibits pitchers from starting consecutive games.
Almonte became a sensation after throwing 16 strikeouts in the Mid-Atlantic Regional championship against State College. His perfect game only added to his reputation, and major leaguers Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr. both contacted Almonte to wish him luck.
But rumors about Almonte's age plagued the team throughout the tournament, and Little League coaches in Staten Island, N.Y., and Pequannock, N.J., said they had hired private investigators to find proof that Bronx players were ineligible, to no avail.
On Monday, however, Little League officials in South Williamsport began an investigation into Almonte's age after Sports Illustrated uncovered the document that said he was born in 1987.
After their third-place finish, Almonte and his team were honored in New York, receiving the keys to the city, a parade through the Bronx and a tribute at Yankee Stadium, even as the controversy flared.
Meanwhile, a U.S. official who asked not to be identified said Almonte and his father are in the United States illegally. They applied to come to the United States in June 2000 and were issued tourist visas, but the visas expired six months after their arrival, the official said.
Little League officials have said his immigration status did not affect his eligibility since all that is required is that a child be of age and that a parent or legal guardian live in the community he represents.
Aug. 31, 2001
SportsLine.com wire reports
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Little League star pitcher Danny Almonte is 14 years old, not 12, a Dominican official said Friday in a finding that could strip the Bronx team of its third-place finish in the World Series.
Little League officials will meet to decide what to do about the ineligible Danny Almonte.(AP)
Victor Romero of the government records office investigated Almonte's birth documents in his hometown of Moca, about 90 miles north of the capital of Santo Domingo.
A birth certificate suggesting the boy was 12 was not convincing, Romero said.
"There are a number of contradictions in the second birth certificate," he said. "Neither the witnesses, the hospital, nor the local authorities could confirm Almonte was born in Jamao."
Almonte's mother, Sonia Rojas Breton, has a handwritten, photocopied birth certificate that said he was born April 7, 1989. But Moca's official records office has another birth certificate that said he was born April 7, 1987.
Another handwritten document from Dr. Toribio Bencosme Hospital in Moca states a woman named Rojas gave birth to a boy there on April 7, 1987. Rojas, who says she gave birth to Almonte at home in the nearby town of Jamao, insists all documents but hers are false.
The boy was brought to New York by his father, Felipe de Jesus Almonte, who has insisted his son was 12.
Little League rules prohibit any player born before Aug. 1, 1988, from competing this year.
Stephen D. Keener, president and chief executive officer of Little League baseball in South Williamsport, Pa., has said the organization would accept the government's findings and would meet to discuss what action should be taken against Almonte's team, the Rolando Paulino All-Stars of the Bronx, N.Y.
A telephone call to Little League headquarters was not immediately returned.
Joann Dalmau, a spokeswoman for the Rolando Paulino team, said after the ruling that league officials had been "lied to by the father. The father is the one who kept insisting he was 12. ... He provided to us documents to show that he was 12.
"We don't know exactly why this man did this," she said.
"We received documents saying that Danny was 12, and that's the only reason Danny was accepted in this league," Dalmau said, adding that Paulino would hold a news conference later in the day.
She also said Felipe de Jesus Almonte and his son were in the New York area but would not say where.
Danny Almonte was the most dominating pitcher at the World Series this year, throwing a perfect game in the opener against Apopka, Fla. He struck out the first 15 Apopka batters in the first perfect game in 44 years at the tournament.
He followed that with a one-hit shutout in the U.S. semifinals against an Oceanside, Calif., team that came in averaging .333 with five batters at .500 or better.
He finished the tournament with 46 strikeouts, giving up only three hits in three starts. A run scored in the last inning of his final game was the only run scored on Almonte all summer.
Behind Almonte's pitching and a solid defense, the Bronx team went 4-1 at the World Series and finished third. The team's only loss was a rematch against Apopka in which Almonte couldn't pitch because of a rule that prohibits pitchers from starting consecutive games.
Almonte became a sensation after throwing 16 strikeouts in the Mid-Atlantic Regional championship against State College. His perfect game only added to his reputation, and major leaguers Randy Johnson and Ken Griffey Jr. both contacted Almonte to wish him luck.
But rumors about Almonte's age plagued the team throughout the tournament, and Little League coaches in Staten Island, N.Y., and Pequannock, N.J., said they had hired private investigators to find proof that Bronx players were ineligible, to no avail.
On Monday, however, Little League officials in South Williamsport began an investigation into Almonte's age after Sports Illustrated uncovered the document that said he was born in 1987.
After their third-place finish, Almonte and his team were honored in New York, receiving the keys to the city, a parade through the Bronx and a tribute at Yankee Stadium, even as the controversy flared.
Meanwhile, a U.S. official who asked not to be identified said Almonte and his father are in the United States illegally. They applied to come to the United States in June 2000 and were issued tourist visas, but the visas expired six months after their arrival, the official said.
Little League officials have said his immigration status did not affect his eligibility since all that is required is that a child be of age and that a parent or legal guardian live in the community he represents.