Danny Almonte appeared to have all the makings of a future baseball star. He was bigger than most his age, throwing harder than anyone his age and dominating players like no one his age. Turns out, it's because he was older than everyone else.
Almonte was a sensation for the Bronx in the 2001 Little League World Series as the New York team powered its way to a third-place finish. On the way to the tournament bronze, Almonte threw a no-hitter in the Mid-Atlantic Regional finals against Pennsylvania, followed by a perfect game against Florida in the round-robin stage, the first LLWS perfect game since 1979.
He stood out for his blazing fastball, which reached up to 76 mph. One coach whose team faced Almonte in the regional tournament, Bob Laterza, made it clear just how rare it is.
"No 12-year-old physically can throw 75 mph," Laterza said, per the New York Daily News. "We had [former big leaguer] Jason Marquis in our Little League when he was 12 years old, and his top speed was 65 mph, maybe 67. So what Almonte was doing was physically impossible. But nobody wanted to hear that. Everybody wanted the superhero. The city fell in love with the whole thing, that's why they let it go."
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Though his parents insisted Almonte was 12 years old, it later emerged that Almonte was 14, two years older than the maximum age allowed to compete in the Little League World Series. The scandal rocked the Little League world. Almonte's father, Felipe Almonte, was banned from Little League competition. Rolando Paulino, the president of the Hispanic Youth Little League, was also banned as it was believed he was aware of Almonte's real age. Almonte was cleared of any wrongdoing as it was concluded he was unaware of the falsified age.
Here's everything you need to know about the LLWS's biggest scandal, and what Almonte is doing now.
How old was Danny Almonte in Little League World Series?
Though documents stated Almonte was 12 years old, an investigation by officials in the Dominican Republic found out that he was actually 14, making him two years too old to participate in the tournament.
Danny Almonte stats, highlights
During the 2001 Little League World Series, Almonte was putting on a display of domination the likes of which the tournament had never seen before. He struck out 16 in a round-robin perfect game against Apopka (Florida), allowed just one hit and struck out 16 more in the quarterfinals against Oceanside (California) and whiffed 14 against Curacao in the third-place game.
Danny Almonte perfect game
Almonte was untouchable against all batters he faced during his team's run to the LLWS third-place game, but it was his perfect game that was the biggest highlight of the run.
Facing Apopka, Fla., Almonte did not allow a baserunner, starting the game with 15 straight strikeouts and ultimately finishing with 16 total strikeouts, setting down all but two batters via the punchout. The only non-strikeouts came on bunt attempts from Ryan Markell and Andrew Cobb, though both were thrown out to start the sixth inning.
It was the first LLWS perfect game in 44 years.
Little League World Series age scandal
There had been plenty of questions throughout the series about Almonte's age from opposing parents and coaches. Per the NY Daily News, parents and supporters of South Shore hired a private investigator to dig into whether the Bronx team was hiding the ages of its players. The detective's investigation came up short.
But Sports Illustrated did not. The magazine found birth ledgers in the Dominican Republic that found Almonte's birthday had originally been registered as April 7, 1987, making him 14 years old. The birth certificate that Rolando Paulino had said April 7, 1989, which would have meant Almonte was only 12, and thus eligible to compete.
Paulino has maintained that he only trusted what was given to him, and that he did not know Almonte's true age, though sources with knowledge of the situation have said Paulino was aware Almonte was too old, per the Daily News.
Following SI's report, Dominican officials investigated the falsified documents, and concluded the alleged witnesses on Almonte's fake birth certificate denied signing the document. The result of the investigations was that all the wins for the Bronx team were forfeited. Almonte's father was banned from Little League, as was Paulino.
In a 2014 ESPN documentary, Almonte called out the actions of both his coach and his father.
"The bad thing is, my coach Paulino and my dad, they knew what they were getting into," Almonte said. "I wish this never happened. But it happened to me and God knows what he does to me."
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Did Danny Almonte play professional baseball?
Almonte continued to play baseball after the Little League World Series scandal, both collegiately and professionally.
He initially made plans to play baseball for a junior college in New Mexico, but instead wound up signing with Southern Illinois in the Frontier League. He made six starts in the league, pitching to a 5.28 ERA across 30.2 innings of work with 17 strikeouts and 19 walks.
After he was released by the team, he enrolled at Western Oklahoma State College to play baseball for the Pioneers. He pitched and hit for the team.
During his first year, he pitched to a 5.17 ERA across 38.1 innings of work with 46 strikeouts and 16 walks, but was a major asset with the bat, hitting .519 in 158 at-bats with 14 home runs and 19 stolen bases. The next season, he was better on the mound, with a 3.72 ERA, 73 strikeouts and 26 walks in 55.2 innings. He still produced exceptional batting numbers, hitting .472 with 18 home runs and stealing 12 bases.
Where is Danny Almonte now?
Following his playing days, Almonte made the transition to become a coach.
Almonte began his coaching career as an unpaid assistant coach for James Monroe High, the school he attended as a student. He has since become an assistant baseball coach at Cardinal Hayes High in New York City.