Israel Baseball League commissioner rules that results of Ra'anana-Modi'in game stand.
By JERUSALEM POST SPORTS STAFF
Israel Baseball League Commissioner Daniel C. Kurtzer has disallowed a protest over the use of an illegal bat Tuesday night, when Ra'anana defeated Modi'in in the first ever home-run derby tie breaker in IBL history.
Modi'in manager Art Shamsky had protested that during the home run derby Ra'anana's Scott Feller had used a composite bat, which contravened IBL rules as it was not made entirely of wood.
However, Kurtzer ruled that the result stands, with Ra'anana awarded a 1-0 victory by virtue of winning the home run derby 4-3 and no penalties were issued.
During the home run derby, Modi'in twice challenged the bat being used by Feller but on each occasion the umpire ruled the bat to be legal. Following the game, Modi'in Manager Art Shamsky filed a formal verbal protest with the league, arguing that the bat was not legal and therefore Feller's home runs should be disallowed.
After the game ended, the bat was taken by league President Martin Berger. Berger found that the bat is a composite bat that is illegal in the IBL.
But, Kurtzer decided that although the bat was clearly not allowed according to IBL rules, and although the Modi'in manager followed the proper procedure for protesting the situation during and immediately after the batter's at-bat, there are "insufficient grounds to overturn the umpire's ruling on the field."
While Kurtzer considered penalties against Feller for using an illegal bat, he decided that because the league did not adequately communicate its rules to managers and players before the start of the season, he only issued a warning.
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