A 12-year-old baseball player from New Jersey is at the center of a legal battle ahead of his state championship, which would bring his team one step away from qualifying for the Little League World Series.
Marco Rocco, a player on the Haddonfield Little League team, was ejected and suspended for one game after flipping his bat in celebration of a home run during a tournament game on July 16.
Marco’s father, Joe Rocco, filed an emergency temporary restraining order in Gloucester County Court on Tuesday in an effort to overturn the suspension, which he says has left his son confused and devastated. New Jersey Superior Court judge Robert Malestein ruled in the Roccos’ favor Thursday, clearing Marco to play Thursday night. In a one-page ruling, Malestein wrote that Little League was blocked from enforcing the suspension.
“We got a letter from Little League saying they considered the bat flip to be in violation of their general rule for no horseplay and unsportsmanlike conduct,” Joe Rocco said in an interview with Front Office Sports. “There’s no express rule prohibiting bat flipping — they confirmed that for us.”
The complaint, filed against Little League Baseball, Inc., requested temporary restraints and permanent injunctive relief against the suspension and claims breach of contract and negligence.
The ejection came from a two-run home run Marco hit in the sixth inning of the game. His bat flip, which landed in front of the Haddonfield dugout as seen in video, was deemed excessive by the umpire and resulted in a disqualification and one-game suspension.
According to the complaint, the home plate umpire initially tried to call Marco out and void the home run, but after a consultation with regional officials in Bristol, the runs were allowed to stand; Marco was still ejected.
“He keeps asking me, you know, what rule he broke and he doesn’t understand it,” the elder Rocco told FOS. “And I said, there isn’t a rule. But life isn’t fair sometimes, and you have to deal with it.”
Although Little League’s rulebook doesn’t explicitly ban bat flips, umpires can interpret excessive celebrations as unsportsmanlike conduct.
“They found that the incident, that bat flipping is horseplay, which we find to be incredibly hypocritical,” he said.
“They [Little League] promote and encourage bat flipping all over their website, their social media platforms, and they broadcast the World Series and show these kids doing that all the time,” he added. “Kids like my son watch the Little League World Series religiously and see these kids doing that without being ejected, warned, or anything.”
The complaint cites multiple instances of Little League promoting bat flipping in videos clips posted to its official X account.
“As this is active litigation, it’s premature to comment on the specifics of this case at this time,” Little League told FOS in a statement before the suspension was lifted. “Little League International Tournament rules serve as the guide for any determination regarding conduct, of which fall distinctly under the discretion of the umpires. As an organization we must consistently honor the judgment of the umpires to ensure fairness across all games at all levels of play.”
Haddonfield is scheduled to open the state tournament Thursday night against Elmora in Deptford. The team is vying for a return trip to the Metro Region tournament in Bristol, Connecticut.
The winner of the four-team Metro Region will qualify for the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
This developing news story has been updated.
