Royals’ Kelvin Herrera has American League championship ring stolen in hometown

On the final day in January, Royals pitcher Kelvin Herrera spent the day at his family’s farm in Tenares, Dominican Republic, before returning to his three-story home inside the city limits. He immediately noticed something was wrong.

As Herrera walked through the front door, he found drawers opened and rooms ransacked, a set of television speakers missing, and a collection of jewelry and watches stolen, including his 2014 American League championship ring. The people responsible, according to Herrera, also made off with five other rings from his baseball career, including one from the 2013 World Baseball classic and three from the minor leagues.

A week later, Herrera said, his AL championship ring was returned, but the case remains unsolved, a result that prompted him to voice his frustration with the local authorities in his hometown.

“The delinquents there are getting bad,” Herrera said on Friday. “I’m trying to let people know that they got to be careful there.

“How am I going to bring a World Series ring to my hometown. They’re going to (steal) it? That’s no bueno. I’m trying to represent my hometown, and I bring my rings to my hometown, and they stole it.”

Herrera, a right-handed reliever, crafted a message for the people of his hometown on Friday, tweeting out the story of the burglary and calling on the mayor and head of the local police to “help end the delinquency” in Tenares, a small town of about 30,000 in the Dominican Republic.

Herrera said he did not seek to draw attention to himself, but as an established, All-Star reliever, he thought his story could make a difference in his hometown.

“If I don’t say anything,” Herrera said, “they’re going to (not do anything). I don’t want to stay quiet.”

This story was originally published March 4, 2016 at 6:40 PM with the headline "Royals’ Kelvin Herrera has American League championship ring stolen in hometown."