What happened to disgraced Little League star Danny Almonte?

It was a story that everyone in New York and across the United States fell for. Teenage phenom Danny Almonte looked untouchable on the mound during the 2001 Little League World Series. He seemed like a future ace who was destined to pitch at Yankee Stadium one day. It was later revealed that he shouldn’t have been allowed to compete in the Little League World Series at all.

Danny Almonte was born in the Dominican Republic in the late 1980’s(more on that later). His family moved to New York with the quintessential goals and hopes for their son and their family. The city is a melting pot for people with various ethnic backgrounds, and Almonte was going to spend his teenage years trying to build that better life.

Like many kids in the Dominican Republic, Almonte grew up loving and playing baseball in his youth. He continued to play after moving to New York, and was part of a Bronx-based team organized by Rolando Paulino in 2001. The group of young boys were pretty talented, and were referred to as the “Baby Bombers” since they played close to Yankee Stadium.

While the collective roster was skilled, it was clear that Almonte was far and away their best player. On the mound, he was clocked at 75 mph, zooming fastballs past the competition who had no chance to catch up. Fans and media were enthralled with Almonte’s golden left arm, even though some would question how someone that young could throw that hard.

Almonte threw the first perfect game in the Little League World Series in 44 years, as he stifled the team from Apopka, Florida. He struck out every hitter he faced that day except for two, who tried to bunt their way on base. Almonte fanned 16 hitters against Oceanside, California in the quarterfinals, and 14 batters against Curacao in the third-place game.

Photo Credit: Sutori.com

As the Yankees were on their way to making another World Series, the city had another team to feel proud of. Almonte and his teammates were honored at City Hall by then-mayor Rudy Giuliani. As crazy as it is to say now, Almonte was gifted a key to the city, which is usually only reserved for professional athletes or accomplished adults.

After the tournament ended, speculation about Almonte’s age started to escalate. If he seemed too physically mature to befuddle Little League hitters, maybe something was amiss. Almonte was initially reported to have a birthday in 1989, which would have made him 12 years old in 2001. However, there were rumors that he was actually born in 1987.

As it turns out, Almonte was actually 14 years old during the 2001 Little League World Series, and shouldn’t have been allowed to play. The Rolando Paulino All-Stars were forced to vacate the wins they recorded during that tournament, and the storybook tale had its balloon effectively burst. Criticism of Paulino and the other adults involved began to run its course.

Almonte did end up playing collegiate and professional baseball, but he never reached the heights that he did as a teenager. He pitched 30 innings for Southern Illinois in the Frontier League. In six starts, he logged a 5.28 ERA, with 17 strikeouts and 19 walks. He also played at Western Oklahoma State College, and fared better as a hitter than a pitcher.

Despite the disgrace that he was involved with 20 years ago, Almonte continues to live and work in the city that he excited back in the day. He stayed involved with the sport he loved, and is now an assistant baseball coach for Cardinal Hayes High School in New York. He was previously an assistant coach for James Monroe High School.