NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) –
The right-hander has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph.
He throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more on Aug. 13.
When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said.
Officials for the three-year-old league, which has eight teams and about 100 players, said they will disband Jericho’s team, redistributing its players among other squads, and offered to refund $50 sign-up fees to anyone who asks for it.
They say Jericho’s coach, Wilfred Vidro, has resigned.
But Vidro says he didn’t quit and the team refuses to disband.
Players and parents held a protest at the league’s field on Saturday urging the league to let Jericho pitch.
The controversy bothers Jericho, who says he misses pitching.
“I feel sad,” he said. “I feel like it’s all my fault nobody could play.”
Jericho’s coach and parents say the boy is being unfairly targeted because he turned down an invitation to join the defending league champion, which is sponsored by an employer of one of the league’s administrators.
Jericho instead joined a team sponsored by Will Power Fitness.
The team was 8-0 and on its way to the playoffs when Jericho was banned from pitching.
“I think it’s discouraging when you’re telling a 9-year-old you’re too good at something,” said his mother, Nicole Scott.
League attorney Peter Noble says the only factor in banning Jericho from the mound is his pitches are just too fast.
“He is a very skilled player, a very hard thrower,” Noble said.
“This is a developmental league whose main purpose is to promote the sport.”
Noble acknowledged that Jericho had not beaned any batters in the co-ed league of 8- to 10-year-olds, but say parents expressed safety concerns.
“Facing that kind of speed” is frightening for beginning players, Noble said.
League officials say Jericho’s mother became irate, threatening them and vowing to get the league shut down.
League officials suggested that Jericho play other positions, pitch against older players or in a different league.
Local attorney John Williams was planning to meet with Jericho’s parents Monday to discuss legal options.
“You don’t have to be learned in the law to know in your heart that it’s wrong,” he said. “Now you have to be punished because you excel at something?”
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It should be noted that New Haven Liga Juvenil de Baseball is not affiliated with Little League Baseball, Inc. It is an independent developmental league not associated with any national organization. There have been stories in numerous newspapers, and discussions in national radio and television shows, that erroneously cite “Little League.”