Parents have mixed reactions to Little League’s move to suspend NJ boy from state final for bat flipping

Parents had mixed reactions Wednesday to the Little League’s move to suspend a New Jersey boy from a state final game for triumphantly flipping his bat into the air — with some calling it too strict and others playing hardball.

“It’s stupid. I think it’s overkill. It’s too much, especially for kids,”Josh Baker, 28, said of the decision while visiting the Major League Baseball shop on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.

“Just give the kid a warning, [say] ‘Hey don’t throw the bat,” said Baker, a Sports Information Director for College Athletics in Michigan. 

“Don’t make the kid sit out again because he’s happy that he hit a home run,” he said.

“He’s playing for one of the biggest moments in childhood baseball.”

Baker was weighing in on how Haddonfield Little League player Marco Rocco, 12, was barred from playing in the championship game because he joyfully flipped his bat in the air to celebrate a home run Thursday.

Rocco and his team had been playing Harrison Little League when the move prompted the umpire to eject him from the game and suspend him from the next one due to “horseplay.”

Mark Pulver, 53, a Little League coach from California — who was visiting New York City for a tournament — said the league was right to come out swinging.

“As a parent who has coached a little league for 13 years, I believe the rules need to be adhered to regardless of the game,” he said.  

“But I also appreciate the specialness of a home run, especially in a playoff game and the excitement that comes with that.”

Ultimately, he said, the boy deserved to be sidelined because he potentially put other people in danger.

“It’s sad to say but..I don’t think the suspension should be changed,” he said.

Other baseball buffs urged Little League to “give him a break.”

“Can you imagine how he feels? As far as he’s concerned, this is the highlight of his life!” said Rafael Pabon, 46, martial artist from West New York, New Jersey who was also shopping at the MLB store.

“Who knows, he could be playing for the Mets or the Yankees one day. He could become a star player in the major league. Don’t be so heartless.”

Rocco’s dad, Joe Rocco, filed an emergency temporary restraining order Tuesday in the Gloucester County Chancery Division in a bid to have the suspension from the New Jersey Little League State Tournament final overturned.

A judge delayed the ruling until Thursday at 1:30 pm, just hours before the championship game is scheduled to start.