Fourth decision about brawl game Pioniers-Kinheim

by Pim van Nes

In a memorandum to the independent appeal committee today, KNBSB president Ruud van Zetten has informed all parties involved that KNBSB board has taken another decision and the first out of procedure decision concerning the regular game between Pioniers and Kinheim of May 18. The game was called off by the umpires after the third incident with stealing runners to second base, when Kinheim fielders ran into the incident and Pioniers then cleared their dugout.

First the KNBSB board suspended players, which were reported by the umpires provisionally, then the KNBSB penalty committee declared the game lost by the Pioniers for bench clearing and suspended the same players definitely. Recently the appeal committee overruled the penalty committee, cancelling the game result and ruled that the game should be continued as from the situation in the sixth inning of the May 18 game with same or eligible players at the time, before playoffs will take off on September 18.

Van Zetten explains in his memo, that clubs and players are not involved in his board’s decision. His main concern is to protect the general position of the umpires in and after the games, underlining that subject umpires of the May 18 game in Hoofddorp delivered an adequate post game report and that communication between appeal committee and subject umpires was not adequate. In fact, Van Zetten is criticizing the independent appeal committee, manned by legal experts.

Pim van Nes
Baseball writer for
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