Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 12, 1993                   TAG: 9308120122
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: POCATELLO, IDAHO                                LENGTH: Short

OK, SO 4 IS A LITTLE YOUNG TO TURN PRO

The 3-foot-6, 50-pounder was scheduled to play as much as an inning in right field for the Pocatello Posse - his prize for winning the contest to name the new entry in the Pioneer League.

"I've been in baseball 29 years and this is one of the strangest things I've ever heard of," Posse manager Ernie Rodriquez said.

In fact, it was stranger than baseball cared for. About eight hours before the rookie-league game with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays, the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues told Posse general manager John Stein that Kyle was ineligible for minor league baseball, citing safety and competitive integrity considerations.

The boy, who played in a tee-ball league for the first time this summer, would have become the youngest person to play professionally.

His pro debut canceled, Kyle was to trot out to right field for the national anthem and return to the dugout to watch the rest of the game with the team.

Since he signed his now-voided minor league contract Monday and was issued jersey No. 44, Kyle hasn't talked with the media.

His father, Rick Carnaroli, says the boy is shy. But the change in plans is no big deal.

"He just wanted to go down on the field and hang out with the guys anyway," Carnaroli said. "If we just sit in the dugout and watch the game with the players, he'll get a real charge out of that."