How a Little Leaguer's bat flip became baseball memorabilia

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Little Leaguer whose family went to court to get a bat-flip suspension lifted has turned the viral moment into a piece of baseball memorabilia. Marco Rocco is now a pin. The 12-year-old from Haddonfield, New Jersey, was embroiled in a legal fight last month after he was ejected for flipping his bat as he celebrated a home run in the final of the Little League sectional tournament. He faced a suspension from his first state tournament game for the ejection and the bat flip until his father took Little League to court and won an emergency temporary restraining order that allowed Marco to play in the New Jersey state tournament. The flip is set to become part of the pin-trading culture that happens each year in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, during the Little League World Series. The pin depicts Rocco flipping the bat on his home-run trot to first base with "Batflip 2025" at the bottom and "Haddonfield" inscribed on the left side. The pin is not for sale and is jointly released by the Rocco family and by family friends and former major leaguers, Jeff and Todd Frazier. Only 75 pins were produced in honor of the 75th year of Haddonfield Little League and they will be traded only later this month at the Little League World Series. "They said it was a significant event in Little League this year," said Joe Rocco, Marco's father. "There was a lot of national attention on it and they thought making a pin and keeping a pin at a limited number would be an interesting item at the Little League World Series." The Fraziers presented the pin idea to Rocco to depict the biggest Little League story to burst on the scene since Mo'ne Davis and he was instantly on board. Rocco said he was unfamiliar with pin-trading culture — which Little League says is widely believed to have started in the mid-1970s by a team from Taiwan — and was simply excited to attend the United States championship and Little League World Series final with his son. Marco tossed his bat in the air on July 16 after his sixth-inning, two-run homer in the final of the sectional tournament. He was ejected and suspended for a game over what his family was told were actions deemed "unsportsmanlike" and "horseplay." Rocco said dozens of parents reached out to him to either offer support or ask for advice on how to handle similar disputes. Rocco said there was, of course, some blowback for his decision to take Little League to court over a disputed decision. "It was chaotic, for a while, which is not what we wanted," Rocco said. The Roccos' day in court ended with the judge allowing Marco to play, and Little League did not appeal. Joe Rocco said he was told that Little League would not appeal the decision but would consider adding rules that would ban bat flipping. "I think after this summer they absolutely need to put some sort of rule on it, whether it goes one way or the other so there's clarity on it," Rocco said. "They need to be clear in the rules so this doesn't happen again." Joe Rocco owns youth sports performance training facility Kresson Sports with Ken Goldin. Goldin is the owner of Goldin Auctions and star of the reality show "King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch," and also had a son on the Haddonfield team. Yes, Goldin already has Marco's flipped bat in his collection. It will be auctioned. Anyone want to trade a pin for the bat? ___ AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports