The Rolando Paulino Little League all-star team (Bronx, New York) completed a dream season by reaching the Little League World Series in 2001. The New York team reached the United States championship game and eventually finished third at the World Series.
Following the completion of the World Series, however, it was established that Danny Almonte, a player on the Rolando Paulino Little League team from New York, was fourteen years old, and therefore in violation of Little League's age requirements for the major baseball division.
As a result, on August 31, 2001, Little League Baseball's charter committee unanimously voted to take punative action against the New York team. In addition to other penalties, Rolando Paulino was forced to forfeit all victories won at all tournament levels, and the teams which they defeated in the championship games of district, sectional, state, and region tournaments were awarded the tournament titles.
The State College American Little League from Pennsylvania was awarded the Mid-Atlantic Region championship, and the Massapequa International Little League was awarded the New York state title. Harrison Little League was awarded the New York Section 3 title, and Parkchester Little League of the Bronx was designated the New York District 22 champion.
Mr. Rolando Paulino, the founder of the league, and Jesus Almonte, the father of Danny Almonte, were banned from any association with Little League Baseball for life, and a warrant was issued in the Dominican Republic for Mr. Almonte’s arrest on charges of falsifying official government documents.
The Charter Committee did not take punative steps against Danny Almonte, saying he was welcome to compete in the senior division the next year. The committee also did not vote on the possibility of revolking the Rolando Paulino Little League’s charter. However, the league was banned from entering the International Tournament until it reorganizes and offers proof that it is in compliance with Little League regulations. Rather than do so, the New York league chose not to renew its charter, and switched its affiliation to PONY baseball for the 2002 season.
Rolando Paulino Little League officials had responded to numerous protests and questions about their players’ eligibility throughout the course of the International Tournament. Suspicions centered around the players’ level of physical maturity, the fact that Mr. Rolando Paulino switched the players on the team’s roster on at least two occasions prior to the World Series, including during the Mid-Atlantic Region tournament, and on indications that Danny Almonte did not speak English despite allegedly attending school in the Bronx.
Mr. Paulino responded to questions about Danny Almonte’s age by presenting an official Dominican Republic birth certificate indicating that Danny Almonte was twelve years old. Following the World Series, however, Sports Illustrated magazine published a story revealing the existance of a second birth certificate that indicated Danny Almonte was actually fourteen years old. Hospital records which later surfaced also indicated that Danny Almonte was overage. Following an investigation, the Dominican government determined that the newly-discovered birth certificate accurately reflected Danny Almonte’s age, and said that witnesses purported to have signed the false birth certificate could not corroberate its authenticity. Following the ruling by the Dominican government, Little League officials took the punative steps described above.
No action was taken regarding Rolando Paulino's 2000 tournament team, which won the New York state championship and finished as the Eastern Region runner-up. Danny Almonte, who was thirteen years old at the time, was a member of this team, as was his older brother Juan.
A number of other allegations swirled around the New York team, including several that surfaced following Little League's ruling. Specifically, according to records on his passport, Danny Almonte entered the United States in late June of both 2000 and 2001, returning to the Bronx just in time for the International Tournament without participating in the requisite number of regular season games. A school in the Dominican Republic later produced attendance records confirming that Danny attended the school through mid-June of 2001.
Residency problems also surfaced regarding another Rolando Paulino player. Francisco Pena, the son of former major league catcher Tony Pena, was a member of the Rolando Paulino team. However, neither Tony Pena nor Francisco Pena'’s mother lived in the Bronx, and questions were raised but not addressed regarding a possible residency violation by Francisco Pena.
On December 11, 2001, Little League Baseball announced changes to the manner in which a league must document a player’s age and residency in order for the player to be eligible for the International Tournament.
Mr. Rolando Paulino was no stranger to controversy. The Rolando Paulino Little League had successfully petitioned to switch from New York’s District 22 to District 23 following the 2000 International Tournament, as league officials were unhappy with the inquiries and documentation requests made of the league by the District 22 administrator.
Mr. Paulino had also previously coached a team from the Rolando Paulino Little League in Moca, Dominican Republic, to the World Series in 1987. The league repeated as Latin American champions in 1988, but was stripped of the Latin American title when Latin American Region officials determined that the league had several overage players on its roster. A team from Curundu, Panama, which the Dominican team had defeated in the championship game, was awarded the Latin American Region title and advanced to the World Series. Following this incident, Mr. Paulino was barred from any further involvement with Little League Baseball in the Latin American region.
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