The
Jackie Robinson West sluggers from Chicago’s struggling South Side became national celebrities this summer when they hit and pitched their way to the Little League World Series and took home the U.S title.
But now the adults who put together the team — parents, coaches and league administrators— face allegations they violated Little League residency rules by stacking the lineup with All-Star ringers from the suburbs to create a “super team†that became champs.
In an email to Little League International obtained by DNAinfo.com Chicago, a neighboring south suburban league called on Little League officials to investigate whether Jackie Robinson West engaged in “manipulating, bending and blatantly breaking the rules for the sole purpose of winning at all costs.â€
“We have very good reason to believe that [there] were several members of this team that did not live within JRW's boundaries and, per Little League residency requirements, should not have been allowed on this team,†Evergreen Park Athletic Association vice president Chris Janes wrote.
Evergreen Park league officials say they decided to speak out despite the risk of being criticized in hopes of protecting the integrity of Little League baseball — a once small-town organization that’s now worth more than $80 million — and keep their league, as well as others, alive.
Jackie Robinson West league officials say they fully complied with residency rules — and Little League International’s request for additional supporting documentation last month — pointing to a finding of no wrongdoing.
“Oh my goodness, we did not cheat. We did not recruit these guys,†Jackie Robinson West president Bill Haley said. “Nothing was done to put these kids together. We absolutely did not cheat.â€
Little League residency rules require players to either reside or attend school within a league’s boundaries with very few exceptions, and specifically state it is unacceptable for a parent to establish residency to qualify for tournament play.
According to a league map obtained by DNAinfo.com, the Jackie Robinson West boundaries include sections of the Morgan Park, Washington Heights, Auburn Gresham, Englewood and New City neighborhoods of Chicago — but do not include any suburbs.
Janes and fellow Evergreen Park league board members said news reports during and after the World Series that quoted suburban officials celebrating various players as hometown heroes exposed some of Jackie Robinson West players as suburbanites and confirmed what some Evergreen Park Little League volunteers had suspected for years — pre-teen blue-chip players were being recruited to join the team.
“Due to their success this year — and getting on TV — all of the information [about the players] became so readily available,†Janes said. “All you had to do was Google any one of the players' names and their hometowns outside of Chicago pop up. … It was all just there.â€
