Over the past several months, West Long Beach Little League has had thousands of dollars worth of equipment stolen from two Westside parks. Now, the league is asking for the community’s help to replace it.
Over the weekend, someone cut the locks on the league’s Silverado Park storage building and made off with a pitching machine and bases, according to Louie Terrazas, who assumed the role of league president two or three months ago.
“It’s discouraging because we’re just trying to do all this stuff for the kids,” Terrazas said. “We have a responsibility to these kids to give them the best opportunity to have fun playing baseball.”
This was not the first theft from the little league, Terrazas said. In the spring, storage at Hudson Park was broken into and an all-terrain vehicle was stolen, he said.
“These things are very valuable to our little league,” Terrazas said in a Facebook post, noting that the pitching machine is used by younger divisions during games as well as practices.
ATVs and other small vehicles are used by baseball organizations to “drag” the field after games and practices, which smooths out the dirt for safer play. The process requires pulling a steel mat across the entire infield. It can be done manually, but that takes far more time and physical effort.
Bases have already been donated to the league, Terrazas said, but the more expensive equipment is harder to come by.
It is unclear if either park has security cameras. The city’s Parks, Recreation and Marine and the Technology and Innovation departments did not immediately provide that information to the Post.
Terrazas has set up a GoFundMe campaign with a $5,000 goal to replace the stolen equipment as well as some additional funds to go toward security measures and other league expenses. But, even if they raise the money, he said, the league still faces another problem: an unfair perception that it’s not safe to play on the Westside.
Luis Razo, a coach in the league, said some high-profile crimes such as a shooting at the park earlier this year that left a 17-year-old dead, have made it so other leagues do not want to play against the Westside organization. The league is short on players as well, averaging only 150 kids per season compared to hundreds at others, he said.
Low registration means the league only has three teams per division, Terrazas said. With no other leagues visiting the Westside last season, teams were playing each other on repeat.
“It became very repetitive, and the competition wasn’t really there anymore,” Terrazas said. “It was a rough season.”
Other leagues, meanwhile, have at least double the registration, Terrazas said.
Despite some high-profile incidents that have cast a long shadow, Terrazas said he has never had an issue himself.
“It’s a park: I see people walking their dogs there every day, we have practice there two, three times a week at night,” he said.
“I wasn’t born in Long Beach, but I grew up on the Westside,” Terrazas continued, noting that he played baseball all the way through his years at Cabrillo High School. “My goal is to make a name for these kids, for this league. I just feel like we should be respected just a little bit more.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify that a police report was not initially filed by the West Long Beach Little League.