Harlem Cleared to Play in Series

The Harlem Little League team was cleared to play in the World Series on Thursday after providing documents showing that its players met residency requirements.

Little League officials partly blamed the leadership of the New York City team for not submitting the proper documents before the regular season. But the team has since provided paperwork refuting accusations it was ineligible because some players did not live within the league’s boundaries.

“These kids weren’t recruited from anywhere. They weren’t brought in from another district or league. They’re home-grown,” said Stephen Keener, Little League’s president and CEO.

Last summer’s Little League World Series was tainted by scandal when a pitcher from the Bronx, N.Y., Danny Almonte, was discovered to be too old to play. Almonte’s team was forced to forfeit its third-place finish after officials determined he was 14 instead of 12.

Keener said there was no comparison between the Rolando Paulino team’s actions and those of Harlem Little League. “Harlem did not attempt to cheat to get here. Rolando Paulino did,” he said.

This year’s World Series is scheduled to begin today. The Harlem team advanced by winning the Mid-Atlantic Regional.

Morris McWilliams, manager of Harlem Little League, said he had “no feeling of bitterness at all” about the investigation.

“Little League did what they had to do,” he said. “We provided them with the documentation, and they made their decision. We’re ready to play ball.”

A protest lodged earlier Thursday by Lehigh Little League of Bethlehem, Pa., which was defeated by the Harlem team in a qualifying game Tuesday night, was denied, the league said.

In ruling that the Harlem team would remain eligible, Little League laid some of the blame at the feet of the team’s managers for keeping disorganized records.

“It was clear to the tournament committee that the leadership of the Harlem Little League failed in its responsibility to gather and submit the proper documents to Little League Baseball International before the start of the regular season,” officials said in a statement.

“These documents, if submitted before or during the regular season, would have been acceptable at that time in establishing the eligibility of the players in question.”

Thee investigation began after Newsday reported Wednesday that as many as three players lived outside the Harlem league’s district.

Although each Little League has distinct geographic boundaries, there are circumstances under which a player can play outside the area where he lives.

Officials declined to outline the specifics of the players’ living arrangements Thursday. They said one of the three investigated clearly lived inside the Harlem Little League District. Two others had moved outside the league’s boundaries but had been playing in Harlem Little League for at least four years, so they were entitled to continue participating.

Little League officials said the documentation used to uphold Harlem’s eligibility was provided by the disputed players’ families and others who know the players. Family members also were interviewed.

Following last year’s scandal, Little League strengthened its rules for documenting the age and residence of players.