The 2001 Little League World Series took place between August 17 and August 26 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Kitasuna Little League of Tokyo, Japan, defeated Apopka National Little League of Apopka, Florida, in the championship game of the 55th Little League World Series. This tournament saw the expansion of pool play to 16 teams, eight from the United States, and eight from around the world. This was the first LLWS to use Little League Volunteer Stadium; it was built to accommodate games added to the pool stage and to host the tournament's consolation game for third place.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | August 17–August 26 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Kitasuna Little League Tokyo, Japan |
| Runner-up | National Little League  Apopka, Florida |
Age controversy edit
Following the conclusion of the tournament, Danny Almonte, a pitcher from the Bronx, New York, team representing the Mid-Atlantic Region, was the center of a scandal when it was discovered that he was not eligible to play in the tournament because he was two years over the maximum age limit. Because of this, the Mid-Atlantic team was retroactively assessed a forfeit for each game they won in the tournament.[1] The team's statistics, including a perfect game thrown by Almonte, were also invalidated.[1]
Qualification edit
Between five and twelve teams take part in 16 regional qualification tournaments, which vary in format depending on region. In the United States, the qualification tournaments are in the same format as the Little League World Series itself: a round-robin tournament followed by an elimination round to determine the regional champion.
| Pool A | Pool B | Pool C | Pool D |
|---|---|---|---|
 Lincoln, Rhode IslandNew England Lincoln Little League |
 Bronx, New YorkMid-Atlantic Bronx Little League |
 Santiago de Veraguas, PanamaLatin America Santiago de Veraguas Little League |
 Hagåtña, GuamPacific Guam Little League |
 Oceanside, CaliforniaWest American Little League |
 Bainbridge Island, WashingtonNorthwest Bainbridge Island Little League |
  Willemstad, CuraçaoCaribbean Pariba Little League |
  Calgary, AlbertaCanada West Little League |
 Brownsburg, IndianaGreat Lakes Brownsburg Little League |
 Davenport, IowaMidwest East Little League |
 Dhahran, Saudi ArabiaTransatlantic Arabian-American Little League |
 Moscow, RussiaEurope Khovrino Little League |
 Lake Charles, LouisianaGulf States South Lake Charles Little League |
Apopka, Florida Southeast National Little League |
Tokyo, Japan Asia Kitasuna Little League |
 Matamoros, Tamaulipas, MexicoMexico Matamoros Little League |
Pool play edit
The top two teams in each pool moved on to the elimination round.
United States edit
† Bronx, New York, won all three of their pool games, but were
|
International edit
† Game ended by "mercy rule" (at least 10-run difference through 5 innings) |
Elimination rounds edit
The 2001 Little League World Series was the first edition that had a female umpire call the championship game: Flora Stansbury from Seneca, Missouri. U.S. President George W. Bush, himself a little leaguer as a child, was also in attendance at the championship game. Nobuhisa Baba's single in the bottom of the sixth drove in the winning run.[5]
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| August 22 - Lamade Game ended by mercy rule | ||||||||||
| Tokyo, Japan | 15 | |||||||||
| August 25 - Lamade | ||||||||||
| Matamoros, Mexico | 5 | |||||||||
| Tokyo, Japan | 2 | |||||||||
| August 23 - Lamade | ||||||||||
| Willemstad, Curaçao | 1 | |||||||||
| Hagåtňa, Guam | 3 | |||||||||
| August 26 - Lamade | ||||||||||
| Willemstad, Curaçao | 4 | |||||||||
| Tokyo, Japan | 2 | |||||||||
| August 22 - Lamade | ||||||||||
| Apopka, Florida | 1 | |||||||||
| Brownsburg, Indiana | 1 | |||||||||
| August 25 - Lamade[7] | ||||||||||
| Apopka, Florida | 6 | |||||||||
| Apopka, Florida | 8 | |||||||||
| August 23 - Lamade Forfeit[d] | ||||||||||
| Bronx, New York | 2 | Third place | ||||||||
| Bronx, New York | 0 | |||||||||
| August 26 - Volunteer Forfeit[e] | ||||||||||
| Oceanside, California | 6 | |||||||||
|
Bronx, New York | 0 | |||||||||
| Willemstad, Curaçao | 6 | |||||||||
| 2001 Little League World Series Champions |
|---|
 Kitasuna Little League Tokyo, Japan |
Champions' path edit
The Kitasuna LL reached the LLWS with an undefeated record of four wins and no losses.[9] In total, their record was 9–1, their only loss coming in the LLWS qualifying round against Santiago de Veraguas LL of Panama.
| Round | Opposition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| All-Tokyo Tournament | ||
| Opening Round | Ryuugasaki LL | 11–4 |
| Quarterfinals | Suzaka LL | 6–1 |
| Semifinals | Matsusaka LL | 12–8 |
| Japan Championship | Nagoya Kita LL | 5–4 |
Notable players edit
- Danny Almonte (Moca, Dominican Republic)
- Francisco Peña (Bronx, New York), Major League Baseball catcher and son of Tony Peña
- Rubén Tejada (Santiago de Veraguas, Panama), Major League Baseball infielder
Notes edit
- ^ Win (5–0) by the Bronx[2] later ruled a forfeit due to an ineligible player.
- ^ Win (7–4) by the Bronx[3] later ruled a forfeit due to an ineligible player.
- ^ Win (5–0) by the Bronx[4] later ruled a forfeit due to an ineligible player.
- ^ Win (1–0) by the Bronx[6] later ruled a forfeit due to an ineligible player.
- ^ Win (9–1) by the Bronx[8] later ruled a forfeit due to an ineligible player.
References edit
- ^ a b c "It's true: Almonte is age 14—Bronx must forfeit Little League wins". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. AP. September 1, 2001. p. B1. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bronx pitcher makes Little League history". Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery, Alabama. August 19, 2001. p. 1B. Retrieved June 1, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Another gem lifts Bronx in Little League series". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, North Carolina. August 21, 2001. p. 1C. Retrieved June 1, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Youth Baseball". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. August 22, 2001. p. 2C. Retrieved June 1, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Baba rallies Japan to 2001 title". AP. August 26, 2001. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
- ^ Scholfeld, Steve (August 24, 2001). "Oceanside loses 1-0 amid controversy". North County Times. Oceanside, California. p. 1. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Apopka, Tokyo to play for championship". Courier Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. AP. August 26, 2001. p. C7. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Almonte gives up first run in Bronx consolation romp". Muscatine Journal. Muscatine County, Iowa. AP. August 27, 2001. p. 1B. Retrieved May 31, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Japan Tournament Results". Unpage.com. Retrieved September 28, 2010.