Long Beach to Get Little League World Title

Officials will strip the Little League World Series title from a Filipino team and award it to a team from Long Beach because the Philippines stacked its team with ringers and engineered an elaborate cover-up, local officials said Thursday night.

An official announcement is expected today from Little League headquarters in Williamsport, Pa.

Bill Marshall, president of the Long Beach Little League team that was defeated by Zamboanga City in the championship game of the World Series last month, said he had been informed by Western Regional Director Carlton E. Magee that officials in Little League headquarters in Williamsport, Pa., had decided that “there was enough overwhelming evidence” to take the title away from the Philippines.

Long Beach will be awarded the title by forfeit, with a score of 6-0 officially placed in the record books, Marshall said.

The decision culminates weeks of accusations about the Philippine team from the island of Mindanao and ended the silence by Little League officials, who were criticized by Long Beach officials for not taking a broader role in the investigation.

Long Beach officials say they have obtained clippings which apparently show that several of the players from the Zamboanga City team were actually all-stars from Manila, which would constitute a violation of Little League policy. Little League rules call for all-star teams to be chosen from local areas, not from national pools. Zamboanga City is about 540 miles southeast of Manila.

Earlier Thursday, a Philippine newspaper quoted the former Zamboanga City coach as saying that up to eight Zamboanga City players were actually all-stars from Manila selected by the Philippine Sports Commission.

One of them was alleged to have been star pitcher Ian Tolentino, who hit a three-run home run and pitched the team to a 15-4 victory over Long Beach in the World Series final last month.

There have also been allegations that several of the Filipino players, including Tolentino, were overage, but those have yet to be proved.

In Thursday’s story in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Zamboanga City Coach Eduardo Toribio charged that he “was elbowed out” as coach of the Philippine team.

Philippines Manager Rodolpho Lugay admitted at the World Series last month that he was new to the team, but denied any wrongdoing.

Toribio also charged that he was denied permission to be on the field during the championship game with Long Beach. Toribio said he got around that by borrowing a press pass from a Filipino reporter.

A press agent for the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles tried to down play the accusations Thursday, calling Toribio a malcontent who had used league funds for his own purposes. He said that Toribio had been dismissed by Filipino Little League officials for his actions and that he just wanted to discredit the winners.

As news of the decision filtered out Thursday evening, parents, players and local Little League officials gathered under the lights at the baseball diamond at Stearns Park in the southeastern portion of Long Beach, where the quest for the world title began more than three months ago. Some sipped champagne, but the mood was generally sober. Many described the turn of events as bittersweet.

“This is not the best way in the world to win a title,” said Coach Jeff Burroughs, whose son, Sean, hit 17 home runs during the team’s march to the championship game. “They were absolutely, totally an illegal team, and my first emotion about that is anger.”

Long Beach Manager Larry Lewis said: “The kids have been deprived of an opportunity of a lifetime--to win a world championship fair and square on the playing field. They’ll never have that opportunity again.’

Several of the players, who had just concluded soccer workouts nearby, said they shared Lewis’ viewpoint.

“I would have rather beaten them on the field,” said Chris Miller, one of four players who will be eligible to play in the series again next year. “They came to our (country’s) field and ruined this championship.”

District 38 Administrator Ron McKittrick, the man who kept the pressure on Little League officials in Williamsport, said Thursday that he had said he would file an official protest with Little League officials, but then changed his mind, deciding instead to put it off a day.

“The victory for the kids is very shallow because they didn’t get a chance to win it,” he said. “And I can’t strut my stuff as a district administrator and say, ‘I’ve got a title in my pocket.’ ”