East Tonka Little League Players Weigh the Case of the St. Paul Saints

Players from the East Tonka Little League in Minnetonka headed to see the St. Paul Saints play the Gary SouthShore RailCats on May 11 at Midway Stadium—but this time they weren’t just there to watch.

The players sat in “jury boxes” along the first- and third-base lines to decide close plays by raising “Safe” or “Out” signs. Like a criminal jury, there were 12 players in each jury box.

The game was part of a legal-themed promotion done with Hamline University’s Law School, the New York Times reported Thursday. In addition to the jury boxes, umpire Mike Neubeck wore a judge’s robes.

The Times notes that the young jurors left their jury boxes by the sixth inning.

“I have to say I’m a little disappointed the jury left a few innings too soon,” Gary catcher Ryan Babineau said. “I don’t know how we would have gone there. We would have had to have some competition between teams, maybe a dance-off, to determine who was the winner.”

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