Jul 1, 2008

Thieves target Little League

By Banks Albach / Daily News Staff Writer

Their bats, gloves, cleats and helmets were stolen Saturday, but the Ravenswood Little League's postseason hustle continues, thanks in part to a grant from the Oakland A's.

The professional baseball franchise decided Monday to donate $8,500 to the league, which hosts East Palo Alto and Menlo Park players ages 9 to 12, after hearing that its storage shed was burglarized early Saturday morning.

An unknown number of suspects broke into the shed and snack shack at Martin Luther King Park, 498 Daisy Lane in East Palo Alto.

They chiseled through two metal doors and took several pieces of equipment, including a pitching machine, 50 gloves, 30 uniforms, a megaphone, television, microwave, a nacho and hot dog-warmer and a device used to stripe playing fields.

Because the regular season is over, though, coaches for the four teams and 60 players managed to gather enough gear for the last qualifying team to keep playing in the finals.

If they win today, the team will play again Thursday.

Money from the Oakland A's will go toward new equipment for next season.
"We hope this donation ... will allow the teams to begin their next season with a fresh start," A's President Michael Crowley said in a written statement.

This isn't the first time the shed has been broken into, League president Bruce Swain said.

Since last Memorial Day, people have broken into the snack shack several times, using the roof's skylight.

He said they sometimes took sodas, candy and other food items.

But mostly, he said, they would just trash the place by spraying soda on the walls and throwing candy bars on the ground.

Until this weekend, the vandals had never entered the storage shed, Swain said.

As Swain was coaching a team on Monday at Martin Luther King Park, he learned about the grant.

"I had no idea," he said. "This is great. That will hopefully replace everything."
Tommie Roberts, Ravenswood Little League's chairman, has been involved with the league about 25 years and said this is the biggest theft so far.

"It's the worst one," Roberts said Monday. "We didn't know how to react right away. Here's all of the stuff we once had and now there's nothing. It's just devastating."

Police Detective Tracy Turner said she is looking into the case, but hopes some community members can provide some tips about the burglary.

Anyone with additional information, or who may have witnessed the burglary, is asked to call East Palo Alto police Detective Tracy Turner at 650-853-3177, or the anonymous tip line at 650-853-8477.

E-mail Banks Albach at balbach@dailynewsgroup.com.