A 12-year-old Little League player from Haddonfield was suspended over a bat flip. His dad is fighting back.
“We’re trying to cope with it,” Joe Rocco said after his son was suspended from one game in the New Jersey Little League finals. “I’ve tried to teach some life lessons from this.”
Marco Rocco still doesn’t understand what he did wrong. Last Wednesday, on July 16, the 12-year-old infielder was playing in the Section 4 tournament for the 12-and-under Haddonfield Little League team.
Rocco’s team was up 6-0 in the top of the sixth inning against Harrison Township, until he slugged a two-run home run to center field to make it 8-0. Feeling the rush of excitement, Rocco flipped his bat to celebrate his homer, but then was met with an ejection from the game.
“He flipped the bat up in the air, the bat came down, and he circled the bases,” said his father, Joe, who serves as one of Haddonfield’s three coaches. “Originally, the umpire ruled that the home run didn’t count because he flipped the bat and that his run and the other runner that was on base should be disallowed. Then there was some discussion among the umpire crew, the home plate umpire, and his colleagues.
“They allegedly called up to Bristol, Conn., which is the Eastern Region headquarters of Little League. We were told that Little League told them that they cannot disallow the home run, but that the umpire could eject the player if he felt that [Marco] was in violation of a Little League rule. They stated that it was unsportsmanlike conduct and it was horseplay.”
In the past, however, bat flips have been met with different reactions, including during some Little League games that Marco watched as a fan.
The ejection also came with a one-game suspension, which would be served during Thursday night’s game against Ridgewood, the first game of the New Jersey Little League State Tournament in Deptford. The 12U state final is a four-team, double-elimination bracket format with the winner advancing to the Metro Region Tournament in Bristol.
Joe Rocco first contacted Little League International headquarters about having the ruling overturned, but Little League wouldn’t budge. He then decided to file an emergency temporary restraining order against Little League International, requesting for a judge to lift the suspension and find that Marco Rocco didn’t commit an infraction.
During Wednesday’s hearing in Gloucester County, where the sectional tournament was held, the judge did not make a ruling and instead opted for both sides to make an oral argument on Thursday at 1:30 p.m., Joe Rocco said. A final decision will be made by 3 p.m. that day.
If the suspension is not lifted by Thursday night’s game, Marco won’t be able to attend and watch his teammates play.
“We’re trying to cope with it,” Joe Rocco said. “I’ve tried to teach some life lessons from this. He keeps asking me, ‘Dad, I don’t understand what rule I broke. I don’t understand, if I’m watching this on TV and there’s never any penalty associated with it, why wasn’t I able to do it?’
“My answer to him is, ‘Marco, sometimes life isn’t fair. This is your first lesson at 12 years old, and dad’s going to fight for you, whether we win or lose, is not important. But just understand that life isn’t fair, and you have to sometimes deal with that the best way that you can.’”
Marco Rocco has been playing baseball since age 4. Last year was the first time in Haddonfield Little League history that his 11U team won a state championship. With many of those teammates returning this summer, he had hopes of advancing even further. It’s always been his dream to play in the Little League World Series, his father said.
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“He loves the sport. He identifies with it,” Joe Rocco said. “He sacrifices a lot. He works very hard and trains for baseball, giving up some of his summer this year and last year and the year before, when he was 10, to play baseball as opposed to doing other things, like vacationing or going down the Shore.”
The Rocco family believes the ruling is “harsh,” especially since they’ve seen bat flips celebrated at the Little League World Series.
They’re not asking for much, Joe said. Just for his son to be able to compete with his teammates at states.
“My son was very taken aback and confused,” he added. “It’s very difficult and extremely hard to explain to him that he may have to sit out this game for doing something that we believe is not against the rules.”