The New York Police Department put together a team to compete in a charity baseball tournament last week in Texas, but it couldn’t play in the championship game because a thief stole the players’ uniforms.
The New York Finest baseball team was forced to forfeit the tournament’s championship game against the Dallas Fire Department after close to $15,000 worth of equipment was stolen from the team’s minivan, the New York Post reported Friday.
“Being a victim sucks,” manager José Vasquez said. “We’re not too often on this side of things — making the police report, not taking it.”
The burglar made off with gloves, bats, and seven of the team’s blue and yellow uniforms. The incident was a tough blow for the 18-member team, which is entirely self-funded.
“The guys are really upset, they’re devastated,” Vasquez said. “They were even willing to play this afternoon in shorts; that’s how much they love baseball. … Some of the guys would rather their luggage be stolen than uniforms.”
Members of the New York cops team each paid $1,000 to participate in the round-robin tournament, where they earned a 3-1 record.
Van windows were not smashed, and it looked like a “professional job,” Vasquez said. Dallas cops dusted the van for fingerprints, law enforcement sources said, and no surveillance cameras were at the scene.
Photo via Facebook/NEW YORK FINEST BASEBALL TEAM