Minnesota Town Ball team fighting postseason ban for alleged rule violation

RICE COUNTY, Minn. (FOX 9) - A contested rule violation in amateur baseball this summer earned a postseason ban for a championship-contending team south of the metro.

The Webster Sox, in rural Rice County, are having a season to remember. But there will be no playoffs and no opportunity for the club to play for the Minnesota Town Ball title. The players are crushed. They insist the alleged rule violation was just an attempt to have some fun and in no way gave them a competitive advantage.

The Sox are currently on a 10-game winning streak as they wind down their regular season this week. Club management said it is the best season in their 72-year history.

"It's been a lot of fun. It's been tons of fun to play with these guys," said shortstop Peter Grassl. "I mean, I believe that we are a very good team, and we would definitely make a deep run."

But Grassl and the rest of the Sox will not compete for an amateur state crown this summer. And that is for the alleged rule violation earlier this season that the club believes has been taken completely out of context by the league’s governing body, the Minnesota Baseball Association (MBA).

"Had no positive impact on anybody, didn't stand in the league standings, didn't have a negative impact, wasn't any type of competitive advantage, and no malicious intent," explained Sox General Manager Mike Prochaska.

Team management tells FOX 9 that during a game with Owatonna, which both teams treated as an exhibition or scrimmage to get in some practice for league action, Webster’s players convinced their 54-year-old manager, Todd Klehn, to take an at-bat late in the game.

No harm, no foul. Only a little fun, they thought. In fact, he struck out on three pitches.

But it turns out the manager is not a formally registered player with the state. The MBA requires all players who compete for Town Ball teams to fill out a contract and submit it to the state for formal rostering.

So, when word of the at-bat made its way to the MBA, the association took a closer look at the circumstances and determined it was a game between two league teams. Furthermore, Webster had used an illegal player. The punishment was a total ban on playoff baseball in 2023.

"We belong in the postseason," exclaimed Prochaska. "That is in the best interests of baseball. I think banning team players that had no impact on this is not right. That's not in the best sense or interest of baseball."

MBA President Mark Forsman told FOX 9’s Paul Blume that the rules are the rules and that the formal registering of players is critical to ensure a fair play. Adding, that the rules are what makes amateur Town Ball so special.

Upon learning of their punishment, Webster hired an attorney. But their last-ditch appeal was denied by the MBA.

"It does suck," said Grassl. "It is frustrating. It's not great. It's tough for everybody, our players, our fans, everybody in the community. I mean, it is really frustrating for all of us. So, you know, it is what it is. At the end of the day, you just kind of have to live with it and move on and move forward. And that is what we are going to do."

Added Prochaska, "What I would like to do, and I think other teams that have had similar suspensions, how can we as teams, players and our management of teams work together with Minnesota Baseball Association to come up with a tiered penalty program based on severity, similar to like Major League Baseball? And work together instead of one side, one ruling fits all. That would be my counsel and advice. I am a big advocate of you know, working together. You are going to get better results."

Webster wraps up its 2023 season on Sunday with a home game against the St. Benedict Saints.