It’s always surprising to read about large-scale vandalism at a sports field, and what happened at one of the four Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame diamonds in the town of St. Marys, Ontario this past weekend is particularly unusual. As per Sean Irvine of CTV News London (from nearby London, ON), vandals did “10, 20, 25” donuts on one of the CBHOF’s fields, creating thousands of dollars of damage:
In an interview with CTV News London, [CBHOF director of operations Scott] Crawford says the damage was caused by a vehicle doing donuts at King Field, one of four premier diamonds at the attraction, which includes an on-site museum to Canada’s baseball greats.
“They just didn’t do one donut, they did 10, 20, 25 donuts, late Friday night or early Saturday morning,” Crawford said. “Dummies…they’re doing donuts.”
The damage is still being assessed but is expected to be extensive.
“They basically did half the outfield with their donuts from centre field to left field. And, it’s going to be a few thousand dollars to repair and the worst thing is, it is going to wreck the field for the whole summer.”
That sucks, especially considering that King Field was a diamond particularly used for events for young players, and especially considering that the CBHOF (like most museums) is undergoing particularly tough financial times at the moment thanks to the last few years of COVID-19 restrictions. This has already led to St. Marys mayor Al Strathford calling on the culprits to come forward, saying (to Irvine) “It’s ridiculous. You wonder if people actually recognize the hurt and the damage they’ve actually done.”
This vandalism does come at a significant cost. As per the CBHOF site, “King Field is host to more than 10,000 players annually, young and old, as part of St. Marys Minor Ball, St. Marys Slo-pitch and many out of town teams who come to enjoy a unique experience by playing on one of the nicest fields in Ontario while visiting the Hall of Fame in St. Marys.” So while repairs are underway, that’s going to be a loss for this Hall of Fame.
We’ll see if the culprits who did this are ever caught. If anyone has information about the crime, the museum notes they can contact local police at 519-271-4141 or CrimeStoppers (anonymous) at 1-800-222-TIPS. Those interested can also support the CBHOF and the repair efforts here with a donation through this page.
[CTV News/Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame]
