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One interesting baseball draft story centers on Danny Almonte.
Many will remember that Danny was the kid who helped orchestrate a huge lie about his age so he could pitch and help his team win the Little League World Series when he was really 14, not 12 as was required by Little League rules. (2001)
He pitched the only perfect game in LLWS history, which has since been strickened from the record books.
He personifies how institutions handle certain minorities. Despite almost overwhelming evidence he was too old, and despite suspicious evidence of his true age, he was allowed to compete in the 2001 Little League World Series until a sports Illustrated reporter went to Puerto Rico and came back with the proof via birth certificates. He was given a free pass because his story of coming from such a poverty ladened background was so compelling.
The kid turned out to be a pretty good player in high school, and I have read many times that he was good enough to get drafted, but instead not one MLB team wanted to take a chance on the kid. So, now that he's out of high school (he has played at a high school in New York City for the past few years), he'll try the junior college route.
It is argued the kids stats (8-0 as a soph, 13-0 this year and under 1.00 ERA) prove he is worhty of being drafted, so did the memory of the lying and cheating just to win Little league games keep major league baseball teams away? Maybe in the end, Danny and his family got just what they deserved.
Many will remember that Danny was the kid who helped orchestrate a huge lie about his age so he could pitch and help his team win the Little League World Series when he was really 14, not 12 as was required by Little League rules. (2001)
He pitched the only perfect game in LLWS history, which has since been strickened from the record books.
He personifies how institutions handle certain minorities. Despite almost overwhelming evidence he was too old, and despite suspicious evidence of his true age, he was allowed to compete in the 2001 Little League World Series until a sports Illustrated reporter went to Puerto Rico and came back with the proof via birth certificates. He was given a free pass because his story of coming from such a poverty ladened background was so compelling.
The kid turned out to be a pretty good player in high school, and I have read many times that he was good enough to get drafted, but instead not one MLB team wanted to take a chance on the kid. So, now that he's out of high school (he has played at a high school in New York City for the past few years), he'll try the junior college route.
It is argued the kids stats (8-0 as a soph, 13-0 this year and under 1.00 ERA) prove he is worhty of being drafted, so did the memory of the lying and cheating just to win Little league games keep major league baseball teams away? Maybe in the end, Danny and his family got just what they deserved.
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