Danny Almonte Rojas (born April 7, 1987) is a Dominican-American former

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

player who is currently an assistant baseball coach at

Cardinal Hayes High School Cardinal Hayes High School is an American Catholic high school for boys in the Concourse Village neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, New York. The school serves the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. It is a member of the Catholic H ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. Born in Moca in the Dominican Republic, Almonte was a

Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

who threw up to . Considered a phenomenon as he led his

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

team to a third-place finish in the

2001 Little League World Series The 2001 Little League World Series took place between August 17 and August 26 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Kitasuna Little League of Tokyo, Japan defeated Apopka National Little League of Apopka, Florida in the championship game of the ...

, Almonte was revealed to have actually been two years too old to play Little League baseball. Although there were many allegations during the 2001 Series, the truth was not revealed until weeks later.

Little League phenomenon

In 2000, Danny Almonte moved to

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

, where he began playing

Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationMoca that still bears his name. With his high leg kick and a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have t ...

that reached a top speed of 76 miles per hour (the equivalent, for that distance, of a 102 mph major-league fastball),Friend, Tom

''

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

'', 2014. the 5-foot-8 Danny soon became a sensation. His imposing frame won him the nickname "Little Unit," a nod to Randy "Big Unit" Johnson. He threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher w ...

in the 2001 Mid-Atlantic Regional finals against State College,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, sending his team to the

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the ...

in South Williamsport,

. In a round-robin game four days later, Almonte threw the first perfect game in the Little League World Series since 1979, against the team from

Apopka Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 55,000 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. ''Apopka'' comes from Seminole word ''Ahapopka'' for "Potato eating ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. However, his team was defeated by the same Florida team in the U.S. championship game (Almonte could not pitch in the championship game under Little League rules, as he had pitched a complete game the day before). He finished the 2001 tournament with 62 strikeouts (out of 72 batters faced), giving up only three hits in three starts, and only one unearned run. Almonte's team, nicknamed "the Baby Bombers" because they played in the shadow of

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

, was the feel-good story of the Little League World Series, and were honored before a

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

game shortly after the Series. They also received the

key to the city The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

from

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 19 ...

Concerns about age

Almonte's imposing appearance and command on the mound, as well as the velocity of his fastball, led to rumors that he was older than 12 years old, the age limit for Little League Baseball. A team from

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

hired a private investigator to look into the ages of the entire team. A similar investigation was conducted by a team from Pequannock Township,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

. Neither turned up any evidence that the players were too old. Rolando Paulino, the league president, adamantly insisted that Almonte had in fact been born on April 7, 1989. Paulino was initially backed by Little League and Dominican officials, who said the Baby Bombers had followed all proper procedures regarding age verification. Officials at Little League headquarters even took the unusual step of checking each of the player documents due to the rumors surrounding the team.Thomsen, Ian, and Luis Fernando Llosa
One for the Ages
''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

'', August 27, 2001. Little League officials had increased scrutiny of player eligibility after the 1992 Series, in which the champions from

Zamboanga City Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga (Chavacano and es, Ciudad de Zamboanga, Tausūg: ''Dāira sin Sambuangan'', fil, Lungsod ng Zamboanga, ceb, Dakbayan sa Zamboanga), is a city in the Zamboanga Peninsula region of the Philippi ...

in the Philippines were stripped of their title due to a large number of out-of-district and overage players. Reporters from ''

'' went to the civil records building in Moca two weeks after the end of the 2001 Series. They discovered a notation in the birth ledger showing that in 1994, Felipe Almonte had registered his son's birth date as April 7, 1987 at Dr. Toribio Bencosme Hospital—which would have made him 14 years old at the time of the 2001 Series. It was common for Dominican parents to wait years before registering the birth of a child. Their report, posted on the magazine's website just before being published, triggered a full investigation by Little League, even as Almonte and his teammates were being feted in the Bronx. Almonte's mother, Sonia Rojas Breton, owned a handwritten birth certificate saying that he had been born at home in Jamao with the help of a

midwife A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; ...

in 1989. She had registered Danny's 1989 birth date in 2000. Both of Almonte's parents, though separated, insisted their son was born in 1989, condemning the other documents as false. Felipe Almonte appeared on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...

'' at the time of the investigation, proclaiming his son's innocence.

Almonte's real age

As part of Dominican officials' investigation, Victor Romero, head of the national public records office, interviewed the witnesses whose signatures appeared on the 1989 birth certificate. They both denied knowing Danny's parents, let alone signing the certificate. On August 31, Romero announced that Danny had in fact been born in 1987. As a result, Danny Almonte was retroactively declared ineligible, and the Baby Bombers had to forfeit all their wins in tournament play. All of their records were removed from the books, and the team was required to demonstrate compliance with all regulations before entering the 2002 tournament. Felipe was banned from Little League competition for life. Paulino was also banned, since Little League rules make the league president responsible for player eligibility. Dominican prosecutors filed criminal charges against Felipe for falsifying a birth certificate. Danny, who did not speak

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

at the time, apparently knew nothing about the falsified documents and was cleared of wrongdoing. Little League president Stephen Keener said that Danny and his teammates had been "used ... in a most contemptible and despicable way" and that "millions of Little Leaguers around the world were deceived."

Jim Caple Jim Caple is a former columnist and senior writer for ESPN.com. He has worked previously with the ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' and the '' St. Paul Pioneer Press''. Caple attended R.A. Long High School in Longview, Washington. He graduated from ...

called Felipe "the worst stereotype of the Little League parent sprung to life." Danny's godmother later begged forgiveness, saying that "we had to commit this little fraud" to give Danny a chance to compete in a tournament as significant as the Little League World Series.ESPN.com: Moresports - Almonte attends U.S. school for first time
/ref> About the same time, New York City

child welfare Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to ...

officials discovered that Danny had not been enrolled in school for the 2000–01 year—which would be a violation of state law, and grounds for placing him in

foster care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

. Danny's registration listed him as attending Public School 70 in the Bronx. However, Dominican school officials said they had records that Danny had actually attended school in the Dominican Republic until June 15. This would have made him ineligible for the Little League World Series even if he had actually been 12 years old. Little League rules require a player to have appeared in at least half of his team's games by June 15 in order to be eligible for the all-star team that competes in the tournament. Danny then enrolled at Public School 52 in the Bronx in September.

Aftermath

After his father's visa expired, Danny Almonte remained in New York under the guardianship of Rolando Paulino. He played, along with four of his former teammates, in the 2004 Public Schools Athletic League championship. In early 2005, Almonte moved to the

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

area, where he did not play baseball due to residency requirements. The following year he returned to New York, where he pitched for James Monroe High School in the Bronx. In May 2006, Almonte announced he was married to 30-year-old Rosy Perdomo. The wedding took place in 2005, when Almonte was 18. While in the National Amateur Baseball Federation (NABF) wood-bat summer league, he played for Youth Service. There had been some reports that Almonte would be selected in the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, though this did not happen. He attended a Major League tryout in October 2006. After the draft he said he would play baseball for

New Mexico Junior College New Mexico Junior College (NMJC) is a public junior college in unincorporated Lea County, New Mexico, near Hobbs. History and campus New Mexico Junior College first opened in the fall of 1966. With a current enrollment of 3,375. The campus ...

in Hobbs,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

. The team made it to the National Junior College championship game in 2007. Later that year, Almonte joined the

Southern Illinois Miners The Southern Illinois Miners were a professional baseball team based in Marion, Illinois. The Miners were members of the West Division of the independent Frontier League. From 2007 to 2021, the Miners played their home games at Rent One Park. ...

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

, an independent minor-league circuit—and thus forfeited his

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

collegiate eligibility. He pitched his first game on May 27, 2007, against the Evansville Otters. The Miners lost, 3–2. He was released on June 30, 2007. Almonte's record was 0–1, with a 5.29 ERA in six appearances. By at least one account, his poor performance was due to his being out of shape at the time. In fall 2007, Almonte enrolled as a freshman in

Western Oklahoma State College Western Oklahoma State College is a public community college in Altus, Oklahoma. History Western Oklahoma State College was founded in 1926 under the name Altus Junior College. In 1974 state legislature changed its name to the present Western ...

, a community college in

Altus Altus or ALTUS may refer to: Music * Alto, a musical term meaning second highest musical or vocal type * Altus (voice type), a vocal type also known as countertenor Places * Altus, Arkansas, US ** Altus AVA, a wine-growing region near Altus, Ark ...

, Oklahoma, where he pitched and played right field for the Pioneers. Almonte and the Pioneers were ranked fourth in the

National Junior College Athletic Association The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), founded in 1938, is the governing association of community college, state college and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 separate regions ...

Division 2 poll and advanced to the NJCAA D-2 World Series. Almonte finished as one of the top hitters in JUCO baseball, hitting .497 with fourteen

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

s and going 7–1 with one save as a pitcher. In his second year at the school, Almonte hit .472, with eighteen home runs, and had a pitching record of 9–0. Despite those statistics, however, he was not selected by any Major League Baseball organization in the Rule 4 draft.Braziller, Zach. (April 17, 2010).
Now 23, Danny Almonte starting over — as a coach
, ''

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'' Forced to give up pitching due to a sore arm, Almonte played

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin and Maura Tierne ...

baseball in the summer of 2009 as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. As of 2010, Almonte had returned to the Bronx, where he was serving as a volunteer assistant coach for his high school alma mater's baseball team.Abramson, Mitch. (January 14, 2010).
2001 Little League World Series darling Danny Almonte looking for fresh start
, ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Ta ...

'' At that time, he was reportedly no longer with his wife, though he would not discuss details of the relationship. Almonte indicated an intent to return to semi-pro baseball that summer, after the end of the school year, but said that he no longer held expectations of some day playing in the Major Leagues.

In popular culture

The episode " Foul Play" of the legal drama series ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering o ...

'' was inspired by Almonte's story.

References

External links

Ex-Little Leaguer Almonte throwing in Frontier League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Almonte, Danny 1987 births Living people Dominican Republic emigrants to the United States NMJC Thunderbirds baseball players Little League World Series Sports controversies Age controversies Cheating in baseball Sportspeople from the Bronx Baseball players from New York City Southern Illinois Miners players