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Baseball officials reviewing violence
By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer PINELLAS PARK -- Little League Baseball officials in Williamsport, Pa., will decide if Pinellas Park players and parents acted so badly after a tournament game that they instigated two brawls. One parent had part of his ear bitten off and a 9-month-old baby was knocked to the ground. "What we have here is obviously a serious breach, in anybody's view, of sportsmanlike (behavior)," said Lance Van Auken, director of media relations for Little League Baseball. "It's a serious breach of sportsmanship principles." Of 30,000 games since international tournament play began, last Monday's game between Pinellas Park National and Deerfield Beach was only the fourth reported to Williamsport because of violence and the first in which someone was injured, he said. The other three involved coaches or managers who had argued with umpires and been ejected. They continued to argue and grabbed or bumped the umpires. "In each of those cases, we removed those managers or coaches from Little League play" because the teams were still in the tournaments, Van Auken said. But that's not possible here, the season is over for Pinellas Park. The ultimate sanction would be to terminate Pinellas Park National Little League's seniors program for 15- and 16-year-old baseball players, but it's unlikely any punishment would be that severe, Van Auken said. That sentence is usually reserved for "persistent, willful violations of rules and regulations," he said. Another possibility would be to suspend the boys involved, but the season is over and some players will be moving on. Van Auken, who grew up playing for neighboring Cross Bayou teams, said Little League Baseball will make a decision after it has received all reports and spoken to people from both teams -- which could take a month. The trouble began Monday night in the bottom of the sixth inning of a state tournament game in Port St. Lucie between Pinellas Park National and Deerfield Beach. Pinellas Park led 6-4. With two outs and two runners on base, the Deerfield batter sent a pop fly in foul territory. The third baseman misplayed the ball, but Pinellas Park complained that the Deerfield third-base coach failed to move out of the fielder's path and the batter should have been ruled out for the interference. The umpire disagreed. The Deerfield batter hit a three-run homer on the next pitch. Pinellas Park National never recovered and lost the game. Pinellas Park players and parents were furious, many of them using profanity. Some Pinellas Park players refused to shake hands with the victors. One Pinellas Park player allegedly tried to jump on the Deerfield third-base coach but was pulled off by teammates. Some Pinellas Park players may have exchanged blows with Deerfield kids. After order was restored, Pinellas Park player Kyle Scott was heard complaining loudly as he left the park. His father, Tim Scott, tried to quiet him. Moments later, a man darted out of the crowd and hit Kyle on the forehead. Tim Scott jumped in to defend his son. During the fight, the unknown man bit off part of Tim Scott's ear and a 9-month-old baby was knocked to the ground. The Scotts, who live in Seminole, say the reports have been wrong, but refused to discuss the incident. "We're real nice people, but we're not nice to you. ... You can write what you want to," Tim Scott said Friday. The Pinellas Park coach and other supporters blamed the umpire for the brouhaha. That's no excuse, Van Auken said. "Anybody's who's been around baseball knows calls go your way sometimes and the other way sometimes. That's baseball," he said. The coach should explain that to the kids, he said. "We all make mistakes at times," Van Auken said. "There's never any justification for violence on the baseball field or as the result of a baseball game." Little League office was concerned enough about violence before this baseball season to send out 7,500 parent orientation kits to every team in the country. In the kits were a CD, videotape and pamphlets explaining the game and its rules. Also enclosed were a parents' code of conduct, a Little League pledge and a parents' pledge. The Pinellas Park National team did not sign the pledges or the code of conduct. "They did send it out. They sent it out to every Little League," said Bill Ruttencutter, president of the senior baseball program. "We did not have them sign it." It's not clear if Pinellas Park bothered to hand out the material to parents and players. Ruttencutter said he took over the job after the packets came in and was unsure what was done with them.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks Letters |
