"How you gonna write this one up?"

I have heard the line many times: "How are you going to write this one up on the blog?".

Usually it pertains to some funny or weird or wacky incident that takes place during a fastball game, and I have to figure out how to explain what happened. I always try to make sure no one is embarrassed because that's not what this site is about.

I try to keep things light-hearted on the blog while still informing everyone. I also don't write first personal accounts (now that the Caveman is an adult) but this post is going to be written that way.

What happened last night in the GOFL finals, in what should have been a showcase for our game in the area, was an embarrassment to our sport, our league, and to some of those involved, plain and simple. I am not going to use names here but I am going to do my best to explain what happened. I will clarify that when I talk about "brothers" below it is not referring to the three Barbers who are the core of the Orleans team. 

To be clear, some guys behaved honorably and did their best to diffuse the situation. Some participated but essentially acted in self defense or defending their teammates. Others did not behave appropriately at all. Probably everyone involved knows (or should know) where they are on that spectrum and as mentioned I'm not naming anyone.

Orleans was up 5-0 in the fourth inning. No real incidents worth any commentary happened previous to this point. An Orleans baserunner on first made it to third on a single. When he got to third, the player moved quickly back and forth on and off the base at the end of play. This elicited some chirping from the Kars bench, which to be honest I think is to be expected. However, I am not sure what those comments were and if they "crossed the line" or not; only those involved would know. There is of course no rule against this kind of baserunning move.

The baserunner was stranded on third at the end of the inning. As he crossed the diamond to get to the Orleans bench on the first base side, the baserunner was intentionally bumped by a Kars infielder. This shouldn't have happened. It wasn't violent or anything, but it was unnecessary. It is probably an ejectable offense but the Kars player was not kicked out. There was a reaction from the Orleans player, as one would expect, but nothing of major significance immediately transpired. 

Then in the top of the fifth, words were exchanged between some Orleans players on defense and the Kars bench, most notably an outfielder who is the brother of the player who was bumped. This outfielder ran in from the grass and began gesturing and shouting at the Kars bench. Things significantly escalated when that Orleans player threw his glove at a player or players on Kars.

Following that, the benches emptied and scuffles broke out with pushes and shoves and possibly actual punches exchanged.  Some players fell to the ground. There was at least one player who kicked another player. I heard at least one unacceptable discriminatory remark. Neither team was blameless. A couple of spectators went on the field; one grabbed a bat from the ground and to me looked like he was going to use it though he didn't. Some players on both sides attempted to be peacemakers. Others fought. It was about 60 seconds of complete mayhem, a shameful display. I don't think I've ever used profanity on this site previously, but I will now - it was an utter shit show.

Personally, I welcome any fastball player in our league with open arms no matter their background. I hope everyone else would as well. But I cannot condone acts of violence that ruin the game from anyone no matter who they are.

Where do we go from here? I don't know. But I do know that I spend a lot of my time volunteering to organize this game that I love and this incident makes me want to reconsider my commitment. 

Some folks refer to me or think I'm the "commissioner" of the league, but I'm not. I manage a team in the league and sometimes even play. I'm not an impartial commissioner. I do like helping organize and coordinate the GOFL and I am very involved in the league operations. (Ask the teams about my obsessive texts asking for updates for games I'm not at.) But I am not "in charge" of things. 

Decisions in the GOFL are made by consensus, and we generally get along very well. There was a video taken of the last part of the fracas. I am not going to post it on here, but it will be used to help determine next steps. I am not sure if we will be able to get consensus on the aftermath from last night and I have no idea where we go from here.  

I will update this site if / when any decisions are made by the league members, in consultation with the umpires.

Note: This post was edited on October 19 to change some words in the sixth paragraph, but no changes were made to the facts of what happened.