An entire youth baseball season was on the line after a fire destroyed all the equipment in a storage container.
San Pablo Youth Baseball had lost everything, they thought it was game over, but then the community stepped in.
Coach Andre Williams heads up youth sports at San Pablo. On Wednesday nights he coached the soccer team, but many kids play multiple sports.
“All the players that play football play baseball,” Andre Williams said. “Like that little guy over there, he may be small and bow-legged, but he’s a great player.”
Keeping these kids active in sports is personal for Coach Williams. He lost his nephew to gun violence 20 years ago. When he saw the baseball team’s storage container on Monday, he was speechless.
“I was devastated,” he said. “Totally devastated.”
According to police, 30-year-old Ulices Sanchez, a homeless man, stole items from the storage container and set the rest on fire.
“I said wow,” Coach Williams said. “Is this what we deserve?”
About $100,000 worth of equipment was gone in a matter of hours, and the kids thought their fall prom season was over.
“He did it because he really didn’t care,” Jesiah Lutche said. “So I was pretty upset when I heard about the fire.”
Coach Williams tried to remain positive, though, especially with his kids.
“When they saw all that stuff, it really hit them and they said what are we going to do,” he said. “I said we have to move forward. This is nothing but a molehill. I said God will see us through.”
San Pablo Baseball has overcome that molehill thanks to the community.
“This is the first shipment,” said Erik Zalkin of the El Cerrito Youth Baseball League. “We’ll have another shipment coming soon to see what these guys need.”
Mostly opponents on the field, their neighbors from El Cerrito brought donations. Coach Williams’ truck is filled with equipment from another generous donor, and strangers donated thousands to an online fundraiser. The league thought the game was over, but the community rallied so the kids could play ball this weekend.
“Now I feel pretty hopeful,” Josiah said. “I know there are nice people in the world who really care about baseball. Whoever donated, they’re a great person.”
