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There were plenty of foul balls at the Larry Rindero Memorial Tournament this past weekend at the Legion Memorial Diamonds. But the foulest act by far happened a few days before the tournament, when a trio of lowlifes robbed the St. Albert Minor Ball Association’s clubhouse and fieldhouse.
This was no random, impulsive act or a crime of opportunity. Three people, armed with tools including a crowbar, an axe and a gas-powered saw, spent more than three hours plundering the clubhouse and fieldhouse, cutting open the safe and stealing cash, thousands of dollars worth of specialty equipment and signed baseballs donated by Toronto Blue Jays alumni that coach at SAMBA’s summer camps.
And along the way, in their greed and carelessness, they trashed the place, wrecking floors and drywall in their attempts to remove a safe that contained barely $100 in cash.
While the total value of loss and damage to SAMBA will exceed $30,000, the actual value of the stolen goods to the thieves will be much, much less – the most expensive piece of equipment stolen can only be operated connected to SAMBA’s account. Which makes this act far more damaging to those who were stolen from than it could ever be valuable to those doing the stealing. It's more vandalism than theft.
As anyone who has been a victim of theft knows, the worst feeling isn’t that of loss; it’s the feeling of violation. That’s a feeling that hundreds of kids, parents, coaches, umpires and hard-working volunteers have to share today.
But beyond the feeling of violation, there’s one of disbelief. Who steals from a minor sports association – from kids? And who’s dumb enough to steal specialty equipment that can’t be re-sold without easily getting caught? And who trashes a place used and loved by kids to do so?
We don’t know who, but we do know what they look like, thanks to security videos. (Thanks especially to the young woman who gave one of the cameras a lovely full view, by the way.) We hope that those videos make it possible for those responsible to be caught and made to face the consequences of their actions.
What would be especially fitting, in fact, would be to have them volunteer for St. Albert Minor Ball in restitution. That way they could see first-hand the dedicated players, coaches, parents and umpires they stole from, and how many people they hurt. They could face them, again and again, until their debt is paid.
That would be fair ball indeed.
