'Dummies doing donuts' damage Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame field

The mayor of St. Marys, Ont. is hopeful reparations will be collected from those who destroyed a diamond at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame (CBHOF).

The brazen act of vandalism occurred sometime Friday night or early Saturday morning states Scott Crawford, CBHOF director of operations.

In an interview with CTV News London, 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.”

The biggest heartache is King Field is primarily used for young players just developing a love for the game.

Now it’s covered with deep ruts.

Even with repairs, Crawford says it will not be the same for at least a season or two.

The incident comes at a challenging time for the Hall of Fame.

Like most other museums and sports fields, it has been hit hard during the pandemic.

The CBHOF diamonds are owned and operated by the attraction, not the municipality, but Mayor Al Strathdee says it’s a knock against the community.

“They’ve been trying to upkeep them to be the premier diamonds in Canada. This diamond, in particular, is used for youth and the money’s got to come from somewhere. And they’re struggling for attendance already given the pandemic.”

Crawford is filing a report with Stratford Police Service (which has jurisdiction in St. Marys) in the hope the culprits will be caught. He’s already canvassing neighbours.

In the interim, Strathdee is calling on those who did it to come forward.

“It’s ridiculous. You wonder if people actually recognize the hurt and the damage they’ve actually done.”

Meanwhile, a fund to repair the fields has already been started as Stratford police commenced an investigation.