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2001 Little League World Series

Tournament details
Dates	August 17–August 26
Teams	16
Final positions
Champions	Kitasuna Little League Tokyo, Japan
Runner-up	National Little League Apopka, Florida
← 20002002 →

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 (LLWS). 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

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. The team's statistics, including a perfect game thrown by Almonte, were also invalidated.

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 Rolando Paulino Little League	Santiago de Veraguas, Panama Latin America Santiago de Veraguas Little League	Hagåtña, Guam Pacific Guam Little League
Oceanside, California West Oceanside American Little League	Bainbridge Island, Washington Northwest Bainbridge Island Little League	Willemstad, Curaçao Caribbean Pariba Little League	Calgary, Alberta Canada Calgary West Little League
Brownsburg, Indiana Great Lakes Brownsburg Little League	Davenport, Iowa Midwest Davenport 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 Apopka National Little League	Tokyo, Japan Asia Kitasuna Little League	Matamoros, Tamaulipas Mexico Matamoros Little League

Pool play

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

Elimination rounds

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.

	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
	Apopka, Florida	6
					Apopka, Florida	8
	August 23 - Lamade Forfeit
					Bronx, New York	2			Third place
	Bronx, New York	0
									August 26 - Volunteer Forfeit
	Oceanside, California	6
									Bronx, New York	0
									Willemstad, Curaçao	6

2001 Little League World Series Champions
Kitasuna Little League Tokyo, Japan

Champions' path

The Kitasuna LL reached the LLWS with an undefeated record of four wins and no losses. In total, their record was 9–1, their only loss coming in the LLWS qualifying round against Santiago de Veraguas LL of Panama.

Notable players

• 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

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

References

1. ^ "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

• 2001 official results via Wayback Machine

• Little League World Series
• 2001 in baseball
• 2001 in sports in Pennsylvania