Fair or foul?

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this case is handed to you to determine truth and justice in a Senior League baseball game.

Is forfeiting a game due to one player missing pants stripe a fair call or a hard foul?

Here are the facts: First round playoff game, Jets leading the Lion Kings in the third inning, Lions Kings manager protested that one Jets player was wearing pants without trim unlike rest of team, umpire stopped game, Lions Kings awarded win by forfeit by application of ground rule on uniform requirements.

Prosecution opening argument: Little League rules state “all players on a team shall wear numbered uniforms identical in color, trim, and style.” Local ground rules identify uniforms as caps, shirts, and pants and the penalty for a violation is forfeit. The Board of Directors has no choice except to follow the rules.

Defense opening argument: The foremost purpose of Little League Baseball is not to win a game, it’s to play the game. Stopping a game in the third inning for a minor uniform infraction defeats the purpose of the game and takes it away from the kids. There have been numerous uniform infractions throughout the season that were not called. Waiting to apply the rule only against the Jets in the playoffs was unfair.

I am proud to say that in all my years as officer in the Saipan Major League, we never had a forfeit for uniform infraction. Of course, we have a rule but we do not nitpick. As far as I am concerned, as long as the colors are the same, that’s close enough. And in seven years as a Little League manager, I never once complained about another team’s uniform. In this case, I would not have protested in the first place. But that’s not the point.

To illustrate how insignificant the uniform faux pas was, nobody mentioned it until the third inning when the Jets were leading by 10 and pitching a no-hitter. But that’s not the point either.

We are a small, poor island where it’s difficult to order uniforms and find sponsors. We should worry more about getting players on the field than complaining about small differences in uniforms. But that’s not the point.

Here is an appropriate analogy. The speed limit on Beach Road is 35 mph. If everybody drives 45 mph all year long and then the police decide to pull you over and give you a ticket for going 45 mph, then that’s selective enforcement. Why only you? That’s unfair.

Jurors, that’s what we have in this case. If the rule had been strictly enforced all year, then I would agree with the protest. However, the rule was not strictly enforced based on my personal observation. Therefore, waiting to use it to knock out the first place team, something the other team could not do on the field, is in my opinion not good sportsmanship. Let the players decide the winner, I say. The game is supposed to be for the kids.

If this was a real jury and I had a vote, this case would end in a hung jury and mistrial.

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