Suspended Little Leaguer's bat sells for nearly $10,000 at auction

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The bat tossed in the air by a New Jersey Little Leaguer to celebrate a home run that earned him a suspension later lifted by a judge sold Friday for nearly $10,000 at auction.

All proceeds from the sale of 12-year-old Marco Rocco’s signed bat will be donated to the program he plays for, Haddonfield Little League.

“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. “Little League was such a big part of Marco's life for a long time.”

The auction by Goldin Auctions drew 68 bids. The winning bid was $9,882; the name of the winning bidder was not announced.

Marco's bat flip on July 16 in the final of the Little League sectional tournament resulted in an ejection, a one-game suspension and a legal fight.

The suspension would have kept him out of the first game of the state tournament. But Joe Rocco took Little League to court and won an emergency temporary restraining order that allowed Marco to play in the double-elimination tournament.

The incident was also commemorated with a pin available at the Little League World Series.

The bat flip drew attention from major leaguers, who sided with the boy.

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