In latest bat flip flap, big league players side with Little Leaguer

NEW YORK (AP) — Jazz Chisholm Jr., known for playing with flair, noticed when a Little Leaguer was suspended in baseball’s latest bat flip flap.

“I thought that was ridiculous. You’re going suspend a kid for having fun?” the New York Yankees All-Star infielder said Friday. “Crazy.”

Marco Rocco, a 12-year-old from Haddonfield, New Jersey, tossed his bat in the air on July 16 after his sixth-inning, two-run homer in the final of the sectional tournament for Haddonfield’s under-12 team against Harrison Township on July 16. His father went to court and got the suspension eliminated.

“If it’s a game-changing homer, it’s fine. Even when I’m on the mound, it doesn’t irk me. It’s a human reaction and it’s good for the game, just like a pitcher doing a fist pump after a big strikeout,” said Toronto pitcher Max Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner. “I side-eye someone if they hit a solo shot and their team is down 5-0. That doesn’t jive with me. I don’t like it when opponents or teammates do that. I feel the same way about Little Leaguers.”

Rocco was ejected for what his family was told were actions deemed “unsportsmanlike” and “horseplay,” and an ejection results in an automatic one-game suspension.

“I didn’t know they could suspend people in Little League,” Colorado outfielder Jordan Beck said. “I think there’s definitely a way to teach the game, but there’s also fun for the kids, too.”

His father, Joe, is a lawyer and his dad filed suit. Judge Robert G. Malestein of New Jersey Superior Court ruled in favor of the Roccos, and Marco played for Haddonfield against Elmora Little League in a 10-0 loss Thursday in the opener of a four-team, double-elimination tournament at the Deptford Township Little League complex. Marco went 0 for 2 with two strikeouts.

“I wish nobody would do a bat flip. I’m kind of traditional,” Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson said before adding, “But let him play.”

A staid sport for much of the 19th and 20th centuries, baseball has embraced emotion in recent years. José Bautista’s bat flip against Texas in a 2015 AL Division Series was featured in the video game MLB The Show 16.

“It’s a kid’s game, Whether you’re a kid or a major leaguer, we’re in a have-fun era,” Detroit catcher Jake Rogers said. “If you earn that moment, you earn that moment.”

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AP Sports Writers Larry Lage and Noah Trister contributed to this report.