Roswell baseball game turns into a brawl
Posted at: 05/30/2011 8:16 PM
| Updated at: 05/31/2011 12:12 PM
By: Joe Bartels, KOB Eyewitness News 4
Roswell police responded to a friendly baseball game that turned into a fight on Saturday.
The brawl was caught on camera by fans who where stunned when the owner of the Pecos League of Professional Baseball teams stormed the field with a metal folding chair in hand.
Tensions boiled over in the 7th inning after a player from the Las Cruces Vaqueros was picked off at first base.
Officials say the third base coach from Las Cruces ran over to argue the play and ended up pushing the umpire who made the close call.
Chris Paterson, manager of the Roswell Invaders, explained that in baseball, people are allowed to yell and scream, but sometimes it leads to aggressive behavior.
"Maybe a little chest-bump or finger push, but he went a little over board. He let his emotions get the best of him," said Paterson.
Fans with cell phones caught the fight already in progress on Saturday.
Andrew Dunn, the commissioner of the league and owner of the Roswell Invaders, shocked fans as he stormed the field with a folding metal chair.
"He was running out to stop the fight and he knows there can't be a fight in Roswell, it would be bad publicity," explained Paterson. "And from what I gather, he grabbed a chair from a player, and was in such a hurry, he just kept going with it."
Roswell police took a report on the incident but charges have not been filed against the Las Cruces coach that pushed the umpire or Dunn who brought the metal chair onto the field.
According to Paterson, no one was harmed with the chair.
The Invaders manager said his team was not disciplined for the fight but did say the entire situation should have been handled differently.
The manager also said the third base coach from Las Cruces was suspended indefinitely and at least five players from the Las Cruces team have been let go.
|
 |
Tweet |
|
