Sporting Frauds

2001: Danny Almonte

DANNY ALMONTE was a sports sensation in the summer of 2001. A 12-year-old pitcher with a 70-MPH fastball, he led his team of all-stars from The Bronx to the Little League World Series, where he pitched a perfect game on national TV and became a sudden media darling. His team, dubbed the Baby Bronx Bombers, finished third in the tournament.

But.  

A few days later a Sports Illustrated reporter turned up documents in the Dominican Republic, Almonte's home country, suggesting that the boy was actually 14 years old. Investigations by Dominican officials confirmed that Almonte was 14; his father had registered the boy's birth twice, the second time shaving two years off his age. Almonte and his team had their dream season wiped from the record books. Almonte's father and coach were banned from Little League for life, but Almonte, considered more victim than perpetrator, was not punished.