Barring any hard evidence to prove otherwise, the Cal Ripken Baseball League is satisfied with the legitimacy of the Next Millennium (Bronx, N.Y.) 12-year-old roster and will allow the Middle Atlantic Regional champion to take part in the Cal Ripken World Series in Visalia, Calif.
Next Millennium defeated Springfield Monday in the regional final, 8-6, but its victory was masked by controversy.
The Cal Ripken team from Bear, Del., filed a formal protest about the Next Millennium roster during its 6-4 semifinal loss Sunday.
The protest reached Middle Atlantic Regional commissioner Ray Lotierzo and went no further — even though eight of the nine competing teams at the regional complained to organizers about the Next Millennium roster.
Lotierzo was fed up with the complaining and was angered when phone calls were going above his head to the Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken Baseball headquarters in Trenton, N.J.
“The parents of these kids have no business asking about our credential procedures,” said a perturbed Lotierzo. “This is two years in a row we’ve had the same bull- – – in Springfield. It was all instigated by the people running the tournament. It’ll be a long time in hell before they get to host another tournament after dealing with their crap for two years.”
Lotierzo’s venom may have been misguided as Springfield did not file the protest, even though the host team would get the berth in the World Series if Next Millennium was stripped of the title because of a roster violation. Springfield’s 12-year-old team reached the World Series in 2010 in Wilson, N.C.
“We ran a great tournament,” said Bill McMenamin, president of the Springfield Athletic Association. “All the parents did a great job putting it together and it seems like the kids all had a lot of fun.
“Unfortunately there was an issue that we couldn’t address here and we forwarded it to the proper people in the Cal Ripken organization and it was out of our hands.
“The SAA wants to congratulate the Next Millennium team on their victory and wish them the best of luck moving forward.”
Robert Faherty, national commissioner of the Cal Ripken League, backed up Lotierzo saying the Bronx roster was clean.
“We have a series of checks and balances in place when it comes to credentials,” Faherty said. “We have representatives who look into everything and they are a legal team and will be representing the Middle Atlantic region at the World Series that begins Aug. 10.
“It’s disappointing to be in this position and you have to be open-minded (if something was to crop up), but to date there aren’t any facts or evidence besides a group of parents trying to besmirch a group of hard-working young kids.
“We’ve checked the paperwork required to be legal and we are confident as an organization that this is a good group of kids that should have the opportunity to go and compete for a World Series.”
That hasn’t stopped some folks from trying to prove the Cal Ripken League wrong.
The Daily Times has obtained information from a private investigation that identifies one player from the Next Millennium team as being 15-years old.
The player, who is being kept anonymous because he is a minor, listed his birthday on his Facebook page as being in 1995. He also lists himself as a student at William H. Taft High School in the Bronx.
Taft High School closed in 2008, but six specialized schools remain open inside the Taft campus including Jonathan Levin High School for Media and Communications. A New York school official verbally confirmed to an investigator that the aforementioned player is enrolled there.
This information has not been passed along to the Cal Ripken League yet, but according to a source, it will be sent to the headquarters today along with other information gleaned through the private investigation.
“There’s a bias toward New York City right now because of Danny Almonte,” Faherty said, referring to the pitcher from a Little League team in the Bronx who was overage, resulting in his team being kicked out of Little League. “It’s unfortunate, it’s disappointing it’s biased and discriminatory just because it happened in the same neighborhood.
“Something bad happens in every community, but that doesn’t mean it stains the whole community.”
