SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — The Harlem Little League came ready to play ball. Little League officials are ready for them now, too.
The Harlem team was cleared Thursday to play in the Little League World Series after it provided documentation that refuted allegations that three of its players were ineligible because they lived outside the district.
"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 chief executive officer.
The Little League World Series begins today. Harlem, which beat Lehigh Little League of Bethlehem, Pa., advanced and will play its first game Saturday. A protest lodged Thursday afternoon by the Lehigh Little League was denied.
Last week, Little League investigated and rejected claims that the Harlem team was using ineligible players. A second investigation began Wednesday after Newsday reported that three players — different from those named earlier — lived outside the Harlem league's boundaries.
After investigating, Little League officials said one of the three players did live inside the district. The other two had begun their Little League careers when they lived in Harlem and continued playing with the Harlem league after they moved away, which is allowed under Little League rules.
Keener rejected suggestions that this year's controversy resembled the one last year, when the Rolando Paulino Little League, from the Bronx, was forced to forfeit its third-place finish after it was discovered that star pitcher Danny Almonte was too old to play.
"I believe there's been some attempt to correlate what's been alleged of the league in Harlem . . . to the events that transpired last year, and they couldn't be more different," Keener said. "Last year was clearly a case of where we were being deceived with intent. This year, that is absolutely not the case."
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."
Jack Lule, whose son, John, plays second base for Lehigh, said players would accept the decision, but he criticized the league for failing to resolve the issue earlier in the season.
"I think Little League needs to get its rules much more organized so these things don't happen," Lule 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. Had the records been submitted in a timely manner, there would have been no question of eligibility.
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.
Although each Little League has distinct geographic boundaries, there are circumstances under which a player can play outside the area where he lives. A child can play in any league where their parent or guardian lives, can continue to play in one league even after moving to another district, and can play in any league where their parents volunteer, even if the player lives elsewhere.
Following last year's scandal, Little League strengthened its rules for documenting the age and residence of players. Each team must show proof that its players meet age and residence requirements — first at the local level, and again if they win their state tournament and reach the regional.
Although officials say about 30 to 40 teams are disqualified every year during the international tournament leading up to the World Series, only two teams have ever been disqualified after they reached the World Series — the Paulino league last year and Zamboanga City Little League from the Philippines in 1992.
Zamboanga City won the series but had to forfeit the title after admitting that eight players on the team had been brought in from outside the district.