Controversy in the Little League

By Stephen M. Silverman

Wednesday August 29, 2001 07:49 AM EDT

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They may ultimately ranked as No. 3 in last week's Little League world championship series, but the Bronx Little League all-star team is taking New York by storm. And that includes a growing storm of controversy. As the city Mayor Rudy Giuliani honored the team by declaring Tuesday to be Rolando Paulino All-Star Day, the Little League was investigating a claim that its star pitcher, Danny Almonte, was too old to play in the World Series that ended on Sunday. The issue, which had been brewing for some time, finally reached a head thanks to Sports Illustrated magazine (which, like PEOPLE, is published by Time Inc.), which presented the Little League with a document suggesting that the Dominican-born Almonte, who claims to be 12 years old, is, in fact, 14. That would make him too old to play in a World Series limited to players who turn 13 no earlier than Aug. 1. The magazine reported finding two official birth documents for Almonte in the Dominican Republic, one from 1994 showing his birthday as April 7, 1987, and another filed just before he moved to New York last year, which lists 1989 as the year of his birth. His father filed both. On Monday, team officials provided the Little League with records indicating that he turned 12 in April, not 14. The team -- and Giuliani -- has yet to address the issue officially. If Sports Illustrated's claims prove true, the Rolando Paulino Little League team would forfeit its third-place standing and could lose its league charter. A spokesman for the Little League said it could be months before the issue is resolved. Still, Almonte could have quite a career ahead of him. A stunning lefthander, he threw the first perfect game seen in a Little League World Series in 44 years at the Howard J. Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport, Penn. His fastballs were clocked at more than 70 mph.