He was 14. It'd be easier at 16. Easier still at 16. At 18… it'd be a piece of cake. At 20… it'd be like a bunch of people with steel & cannons & horses going after people ON THEIR LAND along side their enemies & spreading diseases the entire time… that they had no defence for. … and acting like you are something special today.
I’m from Queens (right next to the BX. Almonte knew he was 14 and knew he was supposed to be 12. Don’t absolve him. OF COURSE his coaches and his father are to blame but Danny knew.
Exactly right. And him just happening to arrive from the Dominican Republic with no insight to why is the reason. He and his parents knew exactly what they were doing. The real question isn’t forged documents but how much money were he and his family paid
It wasn't only his coaches. He knew he was 14. Every little kid into baseball knows about the LLWS. They know the age limit. He was no innocent victim.
Stop alot of Dominicans 🇩🇴 used their passports and birth certificates that were issued when they got to a major city. People knew he was over age but were afraid to say it.
@@elchapodagoat6933sorry did you walk into the sixth grade classroom when you were in 8 or 9th grade? I doubt it. He wanted to crush it and I don’t blame him for wanting it but it was not a “accident” and to say otherwise is essentially saying he wasn’t smart enough to figure out why everyone else around him was smaller, slower, had a higher voice and didn’t look as old as him is to say he is basically dumb. He isn’t.
@@cadenbrown8985 same to you. Yeah he knew. Come on over to my house I got 8 year old boys who try to cheat at games on a regular basis. Out of curiosity what’s so unbelievable that a 14 year old kid might pull a fast one? Have you not been 14 yet? 😅
@@lukeleonard3382 The dominican republic, especially then, is a rough country. They took tons of these guys filled lower tier roster with them for pennies. Its a predatory and grotesque system that went on for decades. He is a victim of that system
You can see pictures of him at the LLWS and then when he’s in his 20s. You don’t age and grow that much from 20 to 26 it’s not possible. He was 14, they cheated but why lie about it? It makes what they did seem trivial when people make stupid claims
There’s noooo way he was totally innocent here. Even if he spoke 0 English (he was actually a pretty good english speaker) he would still know he was older
To be fair we have no idea what situation he came from in the Dominican. He might not of had any idea how old he actually was. I’m completely speculating but you never know.
I played for his league when I first started playing baseball when I was like 3-4 I don’t remember it but I seen pics of him with our team for the first day ceremony
They sorta did Rolando Paulino(the name of the league they were from) lost their charter. They no longer exist. The "region" he represent was the Mid-Atlantic; thats ALL of NY, NJ, MD, DC, DE(im sure im forgetting 1, i always do). Thats thousands of leagues. You cant punish a whole region. Thats why just the league lost their charter.
I like how all the comments are just about bashing a kid. At the end of the day he just probably wanted to play the game he loved and the people that are bashing him are also the people that drove him from playing as he got older
Not really. At that age, he should have been competing on a jr league sized field. LL pitching rubber to home plate is 46 feet 6 inches, jr league can be anyehere between 54-57 feet depending on what jr league because theres all different kinds. At that age it makes a HUGE difference for both the pitcher and the batter.
Does anyone remember when they absolutely roasted this kid by doing an impression of him at the MTV vma's that year?? I believe damon wayans was hosting, and they were like 'everybody give a big round of applause for danny almonte!!" And some 35 year old dude in a little league outfit jogged onto the stage just saying "baseball,baseball, baseball' in a thick Dominican accent. It was absolutely hilarious, they dont do comedy like that anymore.
The funny part is people call him an anomoly, yet in the decade I played in LL state tourneys it often came down to what county was willing to cheat the most to get specific kids that didn't play in the league all year but in a different district. Or else the team that simply lives in the largest population pool wins. Just like Cali is the most winning state of LLWS championships, being the most densly populated state.
Lol I couldn’t believe when it came out that he was 14-15 pitching in this. He was fun to watch though. His height and how hard he threw didn’t make me think he wasn’t 12-13 (13 was okay granted your bday was before a specific date. It’s rare. Had a kid on my 11-12 yr old team that was 6’2 and consistently threw around 80.
Wait a minute. This kid threw _80 miles an hour?!_ I do _not remember that part for some reason. That's insane. Also, I find it very surprising that 80mph on a Little League field is "only" the equivalent of 105 on a big league field. I'd have thought it be more than that. I can't even imagine standing the box confidently as a kid with a guy throwing 80. I got scared of getting hit when the pitches got into the sixties.
Might want to change the title cause Fan Chen-Jun is on pace to becoming the greatest pitcher in LLWS history with an 82 mph fastball. His age is also legit.
From visual remembering facing a guy or two just as fast I didn't have a gun but all I know is it got there real quick.Naturally didn't even get close but I couldn't hit for crap😁
As a little league coach I can tell you this happens ALOT more then you think. There are a bunch of coaches that have zero shame when it comes to winning and should not be allowed to coach children
80mph on a little league field my guy. Meaning 45 feet to home plate. If he was throwing on a 60ft mound, it would have been lucky to hit 72. And that's not that impressive. When I was 15 I was a freshman on Varsity as a lefty pitcher and I threw 77. That wasnt even anything special either. Hes 14, he wouldnt be playing on 45ft mounds regularly so yiu need to translate that to 60ft mounds. The only reason they say 80mph is equivalent to 105 in big leagues is because it's equally as hard to hit one another. Not that the kid would be throwing 105 if he was on a larger mound 🤣🤣🤣
He's not the first Dominican to lie about his age, and he won't be the last. This is a common tactic for Domnican players. Even the very famous players like Albert Puljols, Alfonso Soriano, Rafael Furcal, and Miguel Tejada all lied about their ages.
Honestly I feel bad for the kid. If he didn’t know, there is no reason for him getting all that hate. If he did know though, then it’s a different story.
...me too, the team shots, he looks like a man among kids...I thought he was older when I watched a couple of his starts, the adults are the criminals here, probably trashed his arm...it got him a chance at a better life, he's coaching, of course he is...for love of the game....
Dude. You need to do some fact checking. I grew up in Bristol CT, where they hold the regional tournament(winners go to Williamsport). He knew, the parents knew, the players knew. EVERYBODY knew. In fact, 2 of the players got in trouble for sexually harassing a girl there and threatened to tell on Danny if they got sent home. Don Soucy knew(tournament director), Cory Wright knew(assistant tournament director), Eileen and Mary-Ellen Holden knew(team interperters). Those 2 diddnt say anything because they diddnt want to ruin it for the rest of the kids and because "it was a once in a lifetime oppertunity for under privilaged minorities." It was a VERY open secret. In fact, that was the first year they started sending 2 teams from each region instead of 1(Rolando Paulino LL from the Bronx were the Mid-Adlantic, and if i remember correctly, Jessie Burkett LL from Mass. represented New England from the east region) and it was a BIG investment for LL so they had A LOT riding on it all.
He drove himself to the games
@@user-up6gs5sq6g it’s a joke
With 2 kids
@@prayforthe_1644 3rd in the way ( 3 women )
I remember this kid, My dad and I called b.s as soon as he was warming up...
Should be life time ban for those coaches
My moms dad was in this tourney that year
@@Sports_Shorts_Official how old are dude
@@Sports_Shorts_Official this wasn’t 40 years ago
@@Sports_Shorts_Official
The numbers don't add up, bruh. Cap for you is called.
After I heard the story all I could think was of Carlos “I am 12.” 🤣🤣🤣
It's like on benchwarmers his birth certificate is written with crayon I am 12😁😁😁😁😁😁
Thats where they got the idea from
Lmao
“I am 12”
*slips the ump $20*
That movie is as I mean fire
Fr
Yeah I think suspicions were raised a bit when Danny's wife and kids attended a game... 😆
It's easy to take it by storm when you are really 20
haha
Great 👍🏼
He was 14.
It'd be easier at 16.
Easier still at 16.
At 18… it'd be a piece of cake.
At 20… it'd be like a bunch of people with steel & cannons & horses going after people ON THEIR LAND along side their enemies & spreading diseases the entire time… that they had no defence for.
… and acting like you are something special today.
Danny was my roommate when we played in the Alaska Baseball League in 2009.
Yeah I bet
It’s true I was one of the baseballs he threw
He DID need someone to lift his walker up stairs...
alaska? cap
It’s true. I was the lamp in their room back in 2009.
I’m from Queens (right next to the BX. Almonte knew he was 14 and knew he was supposed to be 12. Don’t absolve him. OF COURSE his coaches and his father are to blame but Danny knew.
Maybe he just thought his age changed when he travelled. Kind of like how the time changes when you enter a different time zone.
@@oldsoul8330 ages are different in countries like Korea so I guess that’s believable
@@Apollozona there not different in the dr tho
Bro you really think he cared he was a kid at the time
Exactly right. And him just happening to arrive from the Dominican Republic with no insight to why is the reason. He and his parents knew exactly what they were doing. The real question isn’t forged documents but how much money were he and his family paid
Angel Macias is the greatest pitcher in LLWS history. To this day he’s the only one to throw a perfect gane and he did it in a championship game.
I agree. Just watched The Perfect Game movie the other day too lol.
He aged gracefully
I mean, I get his coaches initially forged things, but he never figured out from anyone that 12 was the max age? I doubt that.
like he said he spoke little english so maybe that’s why
His translator was probably in on it. Imagine being told it was ok and having no way of finding out the truth by yourself.
"Unbeknownst to him..." LMFAO
It wasn't only his coaches. He knew he was 14. Every little kid into baseball knows about the LLWS. They know the age limit. He was no innocent victim.
Stop alot of Dominicans 🇩🇴 used their passports and birth certificates that were issued when they got to a major city. People knew he was over age but were afraid to say it.
He's a good guy . The adults around him were opportunistic but not ruthless. It was an opportunity.
Kid was shaving his moustache between innings... 😂
Hasn't missed a meal since turning 14
He knew what he was doing.
ur only saying tht because hes a poc lmao
@@ripcjlol No, you're only saying that because he is a poc.
Exactly. Dont give me that "unbeknownst to him" crap, he knew how old he was.
I would be more likely to say he didn't know what he was doing because he's not white, but not this time@@ripcjlol
Yeah I’m sure he had NO IDEA he was breaking rules when everyone else was 12 around him. That’s not a language barrier problem.
It kind of is tho, if he didnt know they forged his bc then how is he supposed to know how old these kids are?
Are you blaming a 14 year old
@@elchapodagoat6933sorry did you walk into the sixth grade classroom when you were in 8 or 9th grade? I doubt it. He wanted to crush it and I don’t blame him for wanting it but it was not a “accident” and to say otherwise is essentially saying he wasn’t smart enough to figure out why everyone else around him was smaller, slower, had a higher voice and didn’t look as old as him is to say he is basically dumb. He isn’t.
@@cadenbrown8985 same to you. Yeah he knew. Come on over to my house I got 8 year old boys who try to cheat at games on a regular basis.
Out of curiosity what’s so unbelievable that a 14 year old kid might pull a fast one? Have you not been 14 yet? 😅
@@lukeleonard3382 The dominican republic, especially then, is a rough country. They took tons of these guys filled lower tier roster with them for pennies. Its a predatory and grotesque system that went on for decades. He is a victim of that system
I loved watching the tourny back then
Man he was like 10 years older than all the kids. He was at least 20.
You can see pictures of him at the LLWS and then when he’s in his 20s. You don’t age and grow that much from 20 to 26 it’s not possible. He was 14, they cheated but why lie about it? It makes what they did seem trivial when people make stupid claims
@@skylerparry2303 it’s a joke bro. Chill.
It's also governed by 'regions' of countries. Yet some countries were caught putting together all star teams.
There’s noooo way he was totally innocent here. Even if he spoke 0 English (he was actually a pretty good english speaker) he would still know he was older
To be fair we have no idea what situation he came from in the Dominican. He might not of had any idea how old he actually was. I’m completely speculating but you never know.
He doesnt look like a 14 year old or at least he could easily disguise as a 12 year old so yes, it's possible
I played for his league when I first started playing baseball when I was like 3-4 I don’t remember it but I seen pics of him with our team for the first day ceremony
That little league regions management should be prosecuted
That's always been the problem in LL. They won't ever investigate till after the fact.
They sorta did Rolando Paulino(the name of the league they were from) lost their charter. They no longer exist.
The "region" he represent was the Mid-Atlantic; thats ALL of NY, NJ, MD, DC, DE(im sure im forgetting 1, i always do). Thats thousands of leagues. You cant punish a whole region. Thats why just the league lost their charter.
I remember this
I like how all the comments are just about bashing a kid. At the end of the day he just probably wanted to play the game he loved and the people that are bashing him are also the people that drove him from playing as he got older
Young kids are the future MLB in great hands Top Talent!!!
Do you have the games he pitched in btw?
Some of the Taiwan kids dominated in the 70s.
Man really pulled the I am 12 😂
Excelent
RIP Oceanside
It was so obvious he wasn’t 12 I remember watching every game with my dad and brother. He was throwing straight gas.
I was just able to see his game against california and whoa
Amen.
He may have been over the age limit. But still throwing that fast at that age is still very impressive
Not really. At that age, he should have been competing on a jr league sized field. LL pitching rubber to home plate is 46 feet 6 inches, jr league can be anyehere between 54-57 feet depending on what jr league because theres all different kinds. At that age it makes a HUGE difference for both the pitcher and the batter.
TYPICAL !!!!
Carlos. “I am 12”
You smell like beer
He looks like a young Alex Rodriguez.
Does anyone remember when they absolutely roasted this kid by doing an impression of him at the MTV vma's that year?? I believe damon wayans was hosting, and they were like 'everybody give a big round of applause for danny almonte!!" And some 35 year old dude in a little league outfit jogged onto the stage just saying "baseball,baseball, baseball' in a thick Dominican accent. It was absolutely hilarious, they dont do comedy like that anymore.
I remember this.
The funny part is people call him an anomoly, yet in the decade I played in LL state tourneys it often came down to what county was willing to cheat the most to get specific kids that didn't play in the league all year but in a different district.
Or else the team that simply lives in the largest population pool wins.
Just like Cali is the most winning state of LLWS championships, being the most densly populated state.
2 years makes a big difference , I remember.
Happens all the time in Minnesota youth hockey 😅.
He knew don't try to cover that up
That was fun to watch tho! Lol
Part of his warm-ups included shaving
I remember him when he pitched in HS good player
Lol I couldn’t believe when it came out that he was 14-15 pitching in this. He was fun to watch though. His height and how hard he threw didn’t make me think he wasn’t 12-13 (13 was okay granted your bday was before a specific date. It’s rare. Had a kid on my 11-12 yr old team that was 6’2 and consistently threw around 80.
That's fxxck up dude I remember watching this.
My 12u travel team once played a man who was 6 ft tall had a small beard and mustache and hit nukes
Literally happens all the time in sports
He’s the coach for my school
Wait a minute. This kid threw _80 miles an hour?!_ I do _not remember that part for some reason. That's insane.
Also, I find it very surprising that 80mph on a Little League field is "only" the equivalent of 105 on a big league field. I'd have thought it be more than that. I can't even imagine standing the box confidently as a kid with a guy throwing 80. I got scared of getting hit when the pitches got into the sixties.
We are very close to accurate cheekswabs that will definitively determine age for youth sports.
Rumor has it he had to shave before he was issued his uniform
This kid was a dad of 4 at the time. 😂😂😂😂
Might want to change the title cause Fan Chen-Jun is on pace to becoming the greatest pitcher in LLWS history with an 82 mph fastball. His age is also legit.
From visual remembering facing a guy or two just as fast I didn't have a gun but all I know is it got there real quick.Naturally didn't even get close but I couldn't hit for crap😁
The true definition that cheating gets you no where
😮de pocama
Are we just going to forget about Angel Marcias. He threw the first perfect game in the championship game.
Malachi cross I agree Angel Macias pitched the perfect game he is the best pitcher in little league history
If you’re not thinking of the benchwarmers scene where the paper says I am 12 in crayon… i can’t help you
As a little league coach I can tell you this happens ALOT more then you think. There are a bunch of coaches that have zero shame when it comes to winning and should not be allowed to coach children
“I am 12“ - Guy from Dominican Republic in Benchwarmers
"I am 12"
80 mph at 14? That’s still pretty impressive
80mph on a little league field my guy. Meaning 45 feet to home plate. If he was throwing on a 60ft mound, it would have been lucky to hit 72. And that's not that impressive. When I was 15 I was a freshman on Varsity as a lefty pitcher and I threw 77. That wasnt even anything special either. Hes 14, he wouldnt be playing on 45ft mounds regularly so yiu need to translate that to 60ft mounds. The only reason they say 80mph is equivalent to 105 in big leagues is because it's equally as hard to hit one another. Not that the kid would be throwing 105 if he was on a larger mound 🤣🤣🤣
Damn WTH? He’s looking like Bartolo Colon now.
The team he coaches is the best team in the Bronx at this moment
Is that the juco baseball World Series field my dad just won the World Series PRCC basebal
he knew
"Unbeknownst to him", I call B.S. He knew.
The team that got royally ripped of was Oceanside LL team.
He's not the first Dominican to lie about his age, and he won't be the last. This is a common tactic for Domnican players. Even the very famous players like Albert Puljols, Alfonso Soriano, Rafael Furcal, and Miguel Tejada all lied about their ages.
I threw 74 at 11y and 10 months old. Problem was, I Had ZERO control.
Disgrace !! The player , the coaches , and the parents knew he was cheating .
All of them; look at my comment above.
That was my league called rolando paulino and because of that we were never able to go there
A kid from my block was on that team. I felt bad when the whole team got punished
Honestly I feel bad for the kid. If he didn’t know, there is no reason for him getting all that hate. If he did know though, then it’s a different story.
Played against him in juco lol
...me too, the team shots, he looks like a man among kids...I thought he was older when I watched a couple of his starts, the adults are the criminals here, probably trashed his arm...it got him a chance at a better life, he's coaching, of course he is...for love of the game....
Those little league umpires have huge strike zones.they'll give pitchers the outside strike,and I do mean outside by 6" at least.
Throwing 80 at 14 is still impressive I’m 14 throwing at max 70 but then I have to take of a week
I had to listen to that ten times before I figured out you said phenom and not female.
14 is PLENTY oLd enuff to man up and refuse to pLay.
He knew he wasn't a little kid
Your pitch speed is your pitch speed. Leave the sensationalism to Fox news.
2 years older is huge at that age 😆
I’m 12
Dude. You need to do some fact checking. I grew up in Bristol CT, where they hold the regional tournament(winners go to Williamsport). He knew, the parents knew, the players knew. EVERYBODY knew. In fact, 2 of the players got in trouble for sexually harassing a girl there and threatened to tell on Danny if they got sent home. Don Soucy knew(tournament director), Cory Wright knew(assistant tournament director), Eileen and Mary-Ellen Holden knew(team interperters). Those 2 diddnt say anything because they diddnt want to ruin it for the rest of the kids and because "it was a once in a lifetime oppertunity for under privilaged minorities." It was a VERY open secret.
In fact, that was the first year they started sending 2 teams from each region instead of 1(Rolando Paulino LL from the Bronx were the Mid-Adlantic, and if i remember correctly, Jessie Burkett LL from Mass. represented New England from the east region) and it was a BIG investment for LL so they had A LOT riding on it all.
This is where the benchwarmers got it from😂
Bro this was a thing back then lmfao 🤣
Unbeknownst to him MY ASSSSSSS
Crooked
Hahahah like he didn’t know he was older than the rest! Lol
A lot of foreigners lie about their age especially in sports
Unbeknown to him my ass. He knew he was 14 and he knew his competition was 12.
Their were other players over age in that team
He was going to play for the Astros!
Yeah he didn't know how old he was.