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Stolen base: Sydney & District Little League shocked storage shed full of equipment stolen

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SYDNEY, N.S. -

A storage shed at McCormick Field in Sydney was once filled with baseball equipment.

It now sits empty, after someone broke the lock and took gear belonging to the community's Little League baseball association.

"Yesterday afternoon, me and my son stopped down to do a little check on our equipment, as we are getting our season going and as we came around the corner unfortunately the door had been removed and every single piece of equipment taken," says Scott Lecky, who is a volunteer coach with Sydney & District Little League. "Everything from the hooks the equipment was hanging on is gone."

The past year-and-a-half has been filled with uncertainty for baseball players; with pandemic restrictions in place it's been hard to play the game.

Now, as restrictions are starting to ease, Lecky says the kids were looking forward to getting back on the diamond.

"We have some pretty rag-tag gear, but we get it together for the kids and we work on it every year and make sure we have gear," says Lecky. "To come around the corner and see it all gone was just like someone sucker punched me."

Ken Bradley is the Atlantic Regional Director for Little League Canada.

"It's been very rough, and Sydney wanted to charter a challenger division this year," says Bradley.

Bradley says support for the Sydney Association has been pouring in from across the country, including a GoFundMe page to help cover costs.

"When it comes right down to it, we're a baseball community and we may be enemies on the field, but we just can't get enough help," says Bradley.

Lecky says he's unable to put on price tag on the stolen equipment, but he says it's in the thousands of dollars. He says thanks to community support the association will be able to begin their season tonight.

"It's eight year olds' baseball gear, ten year olds' baseball gear. It's not like it's something they can sell to make money with," says Lecky. "It was old jerseys, bases, a chalker. Its stuff that has no monetary value to anybody else, but it's invaluable to us."

Cape Breton Regional Police are investigating and are asking anyone with information to contact them.

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