‘Pretty hard to play baseball without bases’

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/05/2024 (553 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Baseball games frequently feature stolen bases, but the youth teams at a community club in St. Vital are dealing with stolen… everything.

Thieves recently cut through a batting cage fence and swiped a pitching machine and baseball equipment from the Worthington Avenue site of the Norberry-Glenlee Community Centre.

It’s not the only community centre in Winnipeg that’s been hit by bandits. Tyndall Park, at 2255 King Edward St., and Chalmers, at 480 Chalmers St., have been the target of thieves and vandalism in recent months.

“Whoever did this doesn’t care about the kids,” said Michael Andersen, who coaches one of the Norberry-Glenlee centre’s youth baseball teams. “What kind of losers do this?

“They’re just thinking of quick money, but it is the 10- and 13-year-olds who are the real victims here. They also took our bases. It’s pretty hard to play baseball without bases.”

Andersen said some members of his team arrived early, before a recent game, hoping to practise with the pitching machine. It wasn’t there.

“It’s one thing if you steal from a community centre, but you are taking the equipment these kids need to play the game,” he said.

“Most people have consciences, but some don’t. They just don’t care.”

Carmelle Remillard, Norberry-Glenlee’s executive assistant, said a baseball coach reported the theft and vandalism when he arrived for a practice May 17.

Remillard said the cage in which the pitching machine is located is a distance away from the community centre.

“(The pitching machine) costs probably around $2,500 to $3,000, but for them they’ll probably get $50 or $100 for it,” she said. “They took our permanent bases, a rake, bats — just everything they could get their hands on.

“They obviously knew to park in the back lane behind Trafford Park and head right for the batting cage. They couldn’t cut the lock so, instead, they cut a hole in the fencing.”

Images from the community centre security cameras show two people, one in a light-coloured hoodie, the other in a dark-coloured one, by the fence. Another photo shows a dark-coloured getaway car.

Remillard said a police report has been filed, but they hope someone returns the equipment.

“If you play ball in this area of the city, and your team has newer equipment to use all of a sudden, or you might know who these guys are, please let us know,” she said.

Remillard said it isn’t the first time thieves have hit up the community centre: a trailer was stolen two years ago.

Nora Meseman, executive director of the General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres, confirmed “we’ve had a few centres targeted by thieves,” which she called a more common occurrence.

Meseman said thieves cut a hole in the wall of a garage at the Chalmers Community Centre when they stole items.

“These are non-profit organizations and they raise money by fundraising. Yes, they have insurance, but this will impact their premiums and cost them more money. This really is a shame.”

David DeSousa, Tyndall Park’s operations manager, said the thieves who hit his community centre in February put in a lot of effort into stealing property and causing thousands of dollars in damages.

“They had to cut the locks on the hockey boards, then the bolts on a gate and then cut the (metal) grated window,” DeSousa said. “Once inside, they smashed windows to get into offices, took computer stuff (and) a skate sharpening machine. They even took the memories for the security system so the footage was gone.

He said they had just bought the skate sharpener, at a cost of $2,000: “That hurt the most.”

DeSousa said they have been able to replace most items, but they haven’t been reimbursed yet by the City of Winnipeg, which insures them.

“I’ve heard others say it could take a year,” he said. “We even had to shut the facility down for awhile because of all the damage.

“It definitely is the kids and the community who suffer the most.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca