Marco Rocco, a 12-year-old Little Leaguer from New Jersey, just cashed in for his program, Haddonfield Little League.
On July 16, following a towering home run in the final of the Little League sectional tournament, Rocco flipped his bat in celebration as he jogged down the first base line. That immediately led to his ejection, a one-game suspension, and a legal fight.
The bat flip heard round NJ. Should Haddonfield’s Marco Rocco be suspended from the state championship game for this HR celebration? pic.twitter.com/T9cPLdAKV3
— Jamie Apody (@JamieApody) July 23, 2025
The suspension would have kept Rocco out of the first game of the state tournament, but he lawyered up, took Little League to court, and was granted an emergency temporary restraining order, which allowed him to play.
The bat Rocco flipped drew 68 bids at Goldin Auctions, with the anonymous winning bid coming in at $9,882.
“Marco loves Little League and is happy that he is able to give back to an organization that he is very fond of,” his father, Joe Rocco, said in a text to ESPN. “Little League was such a big part of Marco’s life for a long time.”
Following word of his initial suspension, Rocco drew the support of several MLB stars, including New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr.
“I thought that was ridiculous. You’re going to suspend a kid for having fun?” Chisholm Jr. said, via the Associated Press. “Crazy.”
In the end, Rocco got the last laugh and his program benefited greatly.
