SAN DIEGO – Little leaguers were robbed of uniforms and equipment from their baseball field in Mission Valley, coaches said Sunday.
Tim Grohman, coach and father of two kids who play for the Presidio Little League, said coaches discovered their equipment shed had been busted into Wednesday night at Sefton Field in Mission Valley.
“Who steals from little leaguers?” said Grohman.
The coaches and board members installed a new lock and are now working to replace the $4,000 worth of stolen items, including 400 hats and jerseys, some catcher’s gear. Grohman said he was surprised the thief took the kids’ jerseys instead of the pitching machine and baseballs.
“I don’t know what they’re going to do with a bunch of 400 kid-size Padres jerseys. If you see them on eBay let somebody know,” said Grohman.
The team is planning on doing extra fundraising before the season starts so their games and practice are not affected.
“Bad stuff happens. It’s a lesson for the kids, lesson for us. Maybe we can get something good out of this. Maybe we can show the kids even though this happened by one bad guy there is a lot of good people out there, too,” said Grohman.
“I just really want to play baseball. I just hope it doesn’t impact how we play,” said Grohman’s son Bo.
“I hope we get it all back. I don’t want them to spend that much money — $4,000 that’s a lot,” said Grohman’s other son Jamie.
San Diego police are aware of the theft.
The little league started an online fundraiser.
