2001 Little League World Series

Children's baseball tournament

2001 Little League World SeriesTournament details

Dates| August 17–August 26
Teams| 16
Final positions
Champions| Kitasuna Little League
Tokyo, Japan
Runner-up| National Little League
Apopka, Florida

<- 2000

2002 ->

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.

## 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]

Main article: 2001 Little League World Series qualification

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 Island
New England
Lincoln Little League  |  Bronx, New York
Mid-Atlantic
Bronx Little League  |  Santiago de Veraguas, Panama
Latin America
Santiago de Veraguas Little League  |  Hagåtña, Guam
Pacific
Guam Little League
Oceanside, California
West
American Little League  |  Bainbridge Island, Washington
Northwest
Bainbridge Island Little League  |  Willemstad, Curaçao
Caribbean
Pariba Little League  |  Calgary, Alberta
Canada
West Little League
Brownsburg, Indiana
Great Lakes
Brownsburg Little League  |  Davenport, Iowa
Midwest
East Little League  |  Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Transatlantic
Arabian-American Little League  |  Moscow, Russia
Europe
Khovrino Little League
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Gulf States
South Lake Charles Little League  |  Apopka, Florida
Southeast
National Little League  |  Tokyo, Japan
Asia
Kitasuna Little League  |  Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Mexico
Matamoros Little League

## Pool play[edit]

The top two teams in each pool moved on to the elimination round.

### United States[edit]

Pool A | Region  | Record

|

Indiana | 3–0
California | 2–1
Louisiana | 1–2
Rhode Island | 0–3
Pool B Region  | Record

|

Florida | 2–1
Washington | 1–2‡
Iowa | 0–3
New York | 0–3†

† Bronx, New York, won all three of their pool games, but were
later assessed forfeits due to their use of an ineligible player.[1]
‡ Bainbridge Island, Washington, was retroactively placed second
in Pool B due to the Bronx forfeits.

August 17
Rhode Island  | 0–8  | California

|
|

Indiana | 2–0  | Louisiana

August 18
New York  | Forfeit[a] | Florida

|
|

Washington | 4–3  | Iowa
Rhode Island  | 1–5  | Indiana

August 19
Florida | 2–0  | Washington

|
|

California | 5–2  | Louisiana

August 20
Iowa | Forfeit[b] | New York

|
|

Rhode Island  | 2–5  | Louisiana
Indiana | 2–1  | California

August 21
Washington | Forfeit[c] | New York

|
|

Florida | 10–3  | Iowa

### International[edit]

Pool C | Region  | Record

|

Curaçao | 2–1
Japan | 2–1
Saudi Arabia | 1–2
Panama | 1–2
Pool D Region  | Record

|

Guam | 3–0
Mexico | 2–1
Canada | 1–2
Russia | 0–3

August 17
Transatlantic  | 2–4  | Asia

|
|

August 18
Mexico  | 5–6  | Pacific

|
|

Caribbean | 3–2  | Latin America
Europe  | 1–5  | Canada

August 19
Transatlantic  | 3–10  | Caribbean

|
|

August 20
Canada  | 5–6  | Mexico

|
|

Europe  | 0–5  | Pacific
Asia  | 1–6  | Latin America

August 21
Pacific | 6–5  | Canada

|
|

Mexico | 2–0  | Europe
Asia | 4–2  | Caribbean
Transatlantic | 11–0†
(5 innings)  | Latin America

† 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]

1. ^ Win (5–0) by the Bronx[2] later ruled a forfeit due to an ineligible player.
2. ^ Win (7–4) by the Bronx[3] later ruled a forfeit due to an ineligible player.
3. ^ Win (5–0) by the Bronx[4] later ruled a forfeit due to an ineligible player.
4. ^ Win (1–0) by the Bronx[6] later ruled a forfeit due to an ineligible player.
5. ^ Win (9–1) by the Bronx[8] later ruled a forfeit due to an ineligible player.

## References[edit]

1. ^ 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.
2. ^ "Bronx pitcher makes Little League history". Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery, Alabama. August 19, 2001. p. 1B. Retrieved June 1, 2023 - via newspapers.com.
3. ^ "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.
4. ^ "Youth Baseball". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. August 22, 2001. p. 2C. Retrieved June 1, 2023 - via newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Baba rallies Japan to 2001 title". AP. August 26, 2001. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
6. ^ 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.
7. ^ "Apopka, Tokyo to play for championship". Courier Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. AP. August 26, 2001. p. C7. Retrieved May 31, 2023 - via newspapers.com.
8. ^ "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.
9. ^ "Japan Tournament Results". Unpage.com. Retrieved September 28, 2010.

## External links[edit]

* 2001 official results via Wayback Machine

* v
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* 2001
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* 2015
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| United States|

* Great Lakes
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|

International|

* Asia-Pacific and Middle East
* Australia
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* Caribbean
* Europe and Africa
* Japan
* Latin America
* Mexico
* Middle East-Africa (defunct)

Venues|

* Howard J. Lamade Stadium
* Little League Volunteer Stadium

Related|

* MLB Little League Classic

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