Utah keeps faith; game called
<!--subtitle--><!--top author info--><TABLE width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=articleByline><!-- overline-->John Murphy, Staff Writer </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE class=articleBody width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle colSpan=3></TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleBody align=left colSpan=3>SAN BERNARDINO Some things are more important than baseball.
Even at the Little League Western Regional Tournament.
The Utah Little League all-stars, citing religious beliefs, elected not to play their 5 p.m. West Region game with Nevada on Sunday night, regional officials said.
"They informed us yesterday," Western Regionals Director Jim Gerstenslager said. "We respect their decision."
The majority of the Snow Canyon Little League team from Santa Clara, Utah, is comprised of players affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Gerstenslager said Mormons do not believe in participating in sports activities on Sundays.
The second-year director said the contest as of now will be declared a "non-game," with Nevada not receiving a forfeit victory.
One regional official said it would be a violation of the concept of freedom of religion for the region to make Utah forfeit for not playing on a Sunday.
Nevada manager Dave Hernandez seemed to agree.
"This is what makes this country great," Hernandez said. "Our Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. We've had teams in Nevada with a lot of players from the Church of Latter-day Saints, so we understand."
As early as Friday, Gerstenslager was informed by Utah that the team may have been planning to elect not to play on Sunday. But the director said not playing was only a possibility and that no final decision was relayed to him until about 11 p.m. Saturday.
By that time, he said, it was too late to notify the media that there would be no 5 p.m. game Sunday.
Announcements were made over the public-address system during Sunday's first two games that the scheduled third game of the day would not be played, at least not on Sunday.
Gerstenslager said the pool-play matchups are done by "blind draw," making it impossible to know in advance that Utah would be saddled with a Sunday game.
By having its fate determined by the blind draw, some might argue, Utah was simply being treated like every other team.
However, tournaments outside the realm of Little League baseball have been known to make special arrangements for teams with particular religious beliefs.
For instance, Loma Linda Academy is Seventh-Day Adventist and doesn't believe in competing during its Sabbath, which begins at sundown <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Friday. When Loma Linda Academy was entered in the San Bernardino Kiwanis Invitational Basketball Invitational a few years ago, officials drew up the schedule so that it didn't play on a Saturday.
It's unclear if Western Regional officials could have done this, given the tight time schedule they must follow and the fact there's no telling what the religious makeups are of each team or what they might find objectionable.
"There are other religions that may not want to play on certain days," Gerstenslager said. "But we can't be expected to know what all these days are."
Utah manager Kyle Frei could not be reached for comment.
Utah's decision is hardly unprecedented in baseball history. During the 1965 World Series, Los Angeles Dodgers ace Sandy Koufax elected not to pitch against the Minnesota Twins on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.
The problem of Utah playing on Sunday has emerged on occasion in years past, said longtime press-box volunteer Larry Burch.
"Utah has told us in the past that it's a possibility (not playing on Sunday)," Burch said. "That's something that would be left up to them. But I don't think it's ever gotten to that point before. They've always played."
During Sunday morning's Northern California vs. Arizona game, Nevada assistant Tony LeBaron was seated behind home plate under a bright sun, doing some scouting. He seemed to grasp both side of the argument. "The kids are a little disappointed," LeBaron said. "They were looking forward to playing. But we understand (Utah's) religious beliefs, and we respect them."
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<!--subtitle--><!--top author info--><TABLE width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=articleByline><!-- overline-->John Murphy, Staff Writer </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE class=articleBody width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle colSpan=3></TD></TR><TR><TD class=articleBody align=left colSpan=3>SAN BERNARDINO Some things are more important than baseball.
Even at the Little League Western Regional Tournament.
The Utah Little League all-stars, citing religious beliefs, elected not to play their 5 p.m. West Region game with Nevada on Sunday night, regional officials said.
"They informed us yesterday," Western Regionals Director Jim Gerstenslager said. "We respect their decision."
The majority of the Snow Canyon Little League team from Santa Clara, Utah, is comprised of players affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Gerstenslager said Mormons do not believe in participating in sports activities on Sundays.
The second-year director said the contest as of now will be declared a "non-game," with Nevada not receiving a forfeit victory.
One regional official said it would be a violation of the concept of freedom of religion for the region to make Utah forfeit for not playing on a Sunday.
Nevada manager Dave Hernandez seemed to agree.
"This is what makes this country great," Hernandez said. "Our Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. We've had teams in Nevada with a lot of players from the Church of Latter-day Saints, so we understand."
As early as Friday, Gerstenslager was informed by Utah that the team may have been planning to elect not to play on Sunday. But the director said not playing was only a possibility and that no final decision was relayed to him until about 11 p.m. Saturday.
By that time, he said, it was too late to notify the media that there would be no 5 p.m. game Sunday.
Announcements were made over the public-address system during Sunday's first two games that the scheduled third game of the day would not be played, at least not on Sunday.
Gerstenslager said the pool-play matchups are done by "blind draw," making it impossible to know in advance that Utah would be saddled with a Sunday game.
By having its fate determined by the blind draw, some might argue, Utah was simply being treated like every other team.
However, tournaments outside the realm of Little League baseball have been known to make special arrangements for teams with particular religious beliefs.
For instance, Loma Linda Academy is Seventh-Day Adventist and doesn't believe in competing during its Sabbath, which begins at sundown <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=3>
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It's unclear if Western Regional officials could have done this, given the tight time schedule they must follow and the fact there's no telling what the religious makeups are of each team or what they might find objectionable.
"There are other religions that may not want to play on certain days," Gerstenslager said. "But we can't be expected to know what all these days are."
Utah manager Kyle Frei could not be reached for comment.
Utah's decision is hardly unprecedented in baseball history. During the 1965 World Series, Los Angeles Dodgers ace Sandy Koufax elected not to pitch against the Minnesota Twins on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement.
The problem of Utah playing on Sunday has emerged on occasion in years past, said longtime press-box volunteer Larry Burch.
"Utah has told us in the past that it's a possibility (not playing on Sunday)," Burch said. "That's something that would be left up to them. But I don't think it's ever gotten to that point before. They've always played."
During Sunday morning's Northern California vs. Arizona game, Nevada assistant Tony LeBaron was seated behind home plate under a bright sun, doing some scouting. He seemed to grasp both side of the argument. "The kids are a little disappointed," LeBaron said. "They were looking forward to playing. But we understand (Utah's) religious beliefs, and we respect them."
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