The win gave South Lake Charles two World Series qualifiers in 2001: the league's Junior League (13-14 year old) all-star team won the Southern Region championship and eventually reached the semifinals of the Junior League World Series in Taylor, Michigan. 0 So, how he and Almonte could end up on the same field, in the same tournament, in the same batter's box was a crime -- literally -- but it sure made for riveting television, the perfect Brent Musburger moment. Cerda faked a bunt, missed a bunt and swung wildly at a slider -- then jogged, cringing, to the dugout. The almighty Almonte, from the Bronx, vs. mighty mite Cerda, from Oceanside, just outside San Diego. 3 0 0 According to Little League rules, Almonte could pitch only every other game, and they half-hoped and half-dreaded they'd see him in the semifinals, unless the Bronx coaches decided to save him for the final, which seemed unlikely. He studied Almonte, along with Russell, and noticed he was "dropping his arm slot" on his slider.
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Every teammate gravitated to him, and, in the course of their conversations, that name would inevitably come up: Danny Almonte. The other selling points were that half of Russell's team was Latin and the rent in Oklahoma was just $350 a month for a three-bedroom bungalow.
"His curveball, shoot, it had depth, it was tight," Kruse says. 0 -- he worked out obsessively. He rushed halfway to the mound, urging everyone to simmer down. Cerda wasn't sure whether he'd just seen a curve or a slider. Kruse, the pitching coach, was desperate to find out. Now they knew the truth: Cerda was a whole three years and two months younger than Almonte. Kirchner took advantage of the first-and-third situation to steal second, but Richard struck out the power-hitting Parr for the first out in the inning.
All that week, the players had been bombarded by the Almonte hype machine. 0 1 Two days later, South Lake Charles edged ORWALL to advance to the Little League World Series.
No interviews from now on. The Red Sox, Giants and Astros also were hovering, so it was just a matter of who was going to bite first. South Lake Charles (Louisiana) 5, Grove Sports (Oklahoma) 0, South Lake Charles (Louisiana) 6, ORWALL American (Texas) 5 (7 innings; TITLE). Summary: Final Standings
The Yankees invited him and his fellow Baby Bombers out to the Stadium, and Mayor Rudy Giuliani handed over the key to the city. 1 Almonte went home to Rosy, scratching his head.
The team practiced at LSU's Alex Box Stadium, and watched a film of the 2000 College World Series championship game, which LSU won on a last inning home run. Danny Almonte didn't look like a 12-year-old on the mound at the 2001 Little League World Series ... and it turned out that he wasn't. But, when the third round arrived, the Cubs took a pitcher who'd unexpectedly slid down to them, Chris Carpenter of Kent State. But pinch hitter Santo Sierra singled for the Bronx, and pinch runner Reynaldo Guava scooted to third on an ensuing double down the right-field line. 1 After Ashford and Richard combined to shut out Biloxi National in the opening round, Hart struck out eleven in a nine inning, 1-0 win over Huntsville National (Alabama) Little League. But he bumped into an old baseball buddy in the barrio, Manny Paula, and Paula told him again about Kurt Russell. '", Sure enough, the Bronx named Almonte its semifinal starter, and ESPN2 scheduled the game for prime time. Then the Cubs called back, offering the same $500 grand in the fourth -- $115 grand more than they had offered Carpenter in the third. When they did, the whole family wept, and then went to hang a Cubs flag on their front porch. 1 25 In the event of a three-way tie, the initial tie is broken based on fewest runs allowed per defensive inning played. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. He got ready to sign his contract, was told he'd be reporting to the Cubs' rookie league team in Mesa, Ariz., and found himself a brand spanking new catcher's glove, straight out of the plastic wrap. Biloxi scored a pair of unearned runs in the sixth, but ORWALL American held on for the win. He was his father's son, a baseballaholic who swung at his first real fastball at the age of 4. "He was picking up trash and putting it in the trash can," his father says. Grove Sports (Oklahoma) 4, ORWALL American (Texas) 3 7
It got back to Russell, who tracked down the scout afterward to say, "Hey, buddy, can you tell me how many 14-year-old kids you know that can make a fake birth certificate? "He just wanted to make sure they left the dugout the way they found it.". 0
He continued to work at it and get better.
They rode in convertibles, straight down to the beach, and if Matt Cerda ever managed to hit puberty, there were precocious California girls waiting for him on every corner. 4 I think this'll turn out favorably for the people at Wrigley Field. 4 He's just Danny. Coaches wanted to ride his coattails more than they wanted to ride him for missing workouts, and his work ethic became an undeniable weakness. 52, the paparazzi wanted in to the school cafeteria. - This time, Richard took the ball from Ashford. But amid all the innuendo, he returned to his borough as a conquering hero, having pitched a no-hitter, a perfect game and a one-hit shutout. He was rumored to have married a 30-year-old woman, 11 years his senior, and, he confirmed in May 2006 that hairdresser Rosy Perdomo was his wife. Or write about sports? Biloxi National Once a singles hitter, Cerda was now a doubles hitter, and the goal for his senior season in 2008 was to hit dingers. 0
Ties are broken based on records in head-to-head competition among tied teams. The tournament was held in Kutno, Poland from July 8–15.
Ben Kamla singled to left field, and motored to third on a throwing error following Austin Carnahan's grounder.
R Grove Sports (Oklahoma) 4, ORWALL American (Texas) 3 On non-pitching days, he patrolled right field, and batted an obscene .497, leading all Division II junior colleges for much of the season. South Lake Charles (Louisiana) 4, Benton National (Arkansas) 3 (7 innings) "He swung the bat, had a real good arm and had the kind of makeup you can't coach. 0
It was a whirlwind 24 hours. Then they'd ask him what Almonte was doing these days. His calves were massive, his biceps were half-moons, and he knew it. Host - Southern Region Headquarters; Gulfport, Florida H Each participating team played four games in a round-robin schedule, and the top four teams then advanced to single-elimination semifinal and championship round games. Two boys were eligible for the June draft, two boys who'd passed in the South Williamsport night seven years earlier. "I told our kids, 'This will be the game of the tournament. Upon arrival, Almonte went to the mound, reared back ... and hit only 82 to 85 mph on the speed gun. Matthew was offended, too, but as the LLWS was about to kick off that August, the honest truth was this: The boy didn't look a day over 8. With one out, Nobuhisa Baba singled over the glove of SS Stuart Tapley to drive in two runs and give Japan the slight victory. -
Despite the early lead, Mount elected to leave Hart on the mound rather than removing him after one inning to keep him eligible for the championship game. ORWALL American The tournament took place from July 14–20. Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. The Matthew Cerda Way was baseball day and night, or at least until bedtime. This page was last edited on 23 August 2013, at 16:17. ORWALL American
Benton National (Arkansas) "I don't want other people to know what I'm thinking about. But there wasn't any hitch. But only at home.". Grove Sports (Oklahoma) Saturday, August 4:
The Southern Illinois Miners, a brand new team in the independent Frontier League, were looking for some sis-boom-bah. ORWALL American (Texas) 10, Biloxi National (Mississippi) 1 The top four teams advanced to semifinal round competition. South Lake Charles, appearing in the region tournament for the ninth time in eleven years, reached the Little League World Series for the second time with the win. Russell had checked it out, and Almonte was eligible. For more about Danny Almonte and Matt Cerda, watch. ORWALL American (Texas) 10, Biloxi National (Mississippi) 1 ", The media wasn't buying it, and they called from all over -- New York included -- for interviews. But not Matty. 1947 | 1948 | 1949 Many thanks to him. Ross Curet followed with an RBI double, and later scored on Richard's single. Almonte's dad was not only banned from Little League, but prosecuted in the Dominican for falsifying a birth certificate. I'll catch. 4 "They see him as a sideshow pick. New York Mets infielder Ruben Tejada was a member of the 2001 Panamanian Little League team that represented the Latin American region at that year's Little League World Series. South Lake Charles clinched a semifinal round berth with the win, and then rode stellar pitching from Richard to defeat Grove Sports (Oklahoma) Little League 4-2 in the final round-robin game. 3 On the first pitch, Torres hit a nubber in front of home plate. South Lake Charles trailed 2-0 early, but Guillot tied the game with a two-run single and later scored the go-ahead run in South Lake Charles' three-run second inning rally. 14 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 South Lake Charles jumped to an early lead, as Kamla singled in the top of the first before moving to third on a wild throw and scoring on a wild pitch. - But at least Almonte still had Rosy, and at least he was finally close to his other dream, the dream he'd had ever since 9/11: his permanent residency. And, trust me, it can work in reverse order sometimes. He then fanned 16 in a one-hitter against Oceanside, CA.
But he can make the big leagues in a role that fits him. 1 The tie between the remaining two teams is then broken based on head-to-head record. The tournament took place in Indianapolis, Indiana from August 4–12. 0
7 In the fourth, Taylor delivered an RBI single, and Kirby Kirchner lined a two-run home run over the center field fence to widen the lead to 7-2. This time, Richard took the ball from Ashford. "Oh, yeah, we were just pegging them," says one of the coaches, Dennis Carroll. Ashford registered three quick strikeouts, and the perennial Louisiana champions cruised to a 6-0 victory. Wednesday, August 8: Richard had the opportunity to be the seventh inning hero only because South Lake Charles rallied from an early three-run deficit. ORWALL American With the bases loaded, Richard fired strikes past the next two ORWALL batters to close out the win. Monday, August 6: 0 0 Matthew's idea of a good time was an hour in the batting cage, or curling up after dinner to watch Web Gems on "Baseball Tonight." He was a 4-foot-10, 82-pound spitfire, the puniest, youngest player in the tournament, but also the most likely to break up the no-hitter everybody assumed Almonte was going to throw. They promised he could lift as a high school sophomore, but until then, it had to be pushups in his bedroom or nothing at all.