SPORTS ZONE 1: Little League Pitcher Too Old

Little League Baseball's World Series ended this week, with a New York team called the "All-Stars" taking third place.

The All-Stars' star player was a boy named Danny Almonte, who played pitcher. Danny Almonte was cheered as he pitched a perfect game.

This week, the media announced that Sports Illustrated magazine had researched the player's history and found that he was legally too old to play Little League Baseball. The league's rules say that players must be under the age of 12. Sports Illustrated told the media that they had found a legal document showing that Danny Almonte is 14 years old, not 12.

Danny Almonte was born in the Dominican Republic, an island south of the United States. On Friday, August 31, 2001, an official from the Dominican Republic announced that Danny Almonte is, in fact, 14 years old. Victor Romero of the government records office investigated Danny's birth documents in Moca, about 90 miles north of the capital of Santo Domingo. A birth certificate suggesting the boy was 12 was not convincing, he said. The official records office holds a birth certificate that says Danny was born on April 7, 1987. The copies that his parents and the little league hold show Danny's birth date as being April 7, 1989.

Stephen D. Keener, president and chief executive officer of Little League baseball based in Williamsport, Pa., said the organization would accept the government's findings and would meet to discuss what action, if any, should be taken.

Meanwhile, a U.S. official who asked not to be identified, said Almonte and his father, Felipe de Jesus Almonte, 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 Danny's 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. Click here to tell us what you think about this story!

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