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Coach, Parent and Teen Charged After Youth Baseball Brawl That Hospitalized Umpire

Tournament organizers condemned the violence after video of the melee circulated.

Overview

  • Police say a 21-year-old umpire warned coach Marcos Aballi during a Winter Haven tournament game before a confrontation escalated into a bench-clearing fight.
  • According to investigators, Yosmany Guzman Fernandez argued with and punched the umpire’s father in the stands, Aballi then punched the umpire, and Fernandez’s 17-year-old son kicked the umpire while he was on the ground.
  • Aballi, 25, and Fernandez, 38, were charged with battery on a sports official, Fernandez also faces an additional battery count, and the 17-year-old was charged with battery.
  • The umpire was hospitalized and treated for injuries, police said.
  • The two adults were booked into the Polk County Jail, the accused are now out of jail, and police noted prior negative encounters between Fernandez and the umpire as part of their case.