A home run $5,000 donation for Belen Little League

BELEN — What is planned to be a new, long-term commitment to support Little League baseball and softball at the grassroots level in New Mexico and across the nation started Saturday in Belen.

Albuquerque native Sam Kunzman presented the first donation check Saturday from the James S. Kunzman Foundation to Belen Little League.

“America’s pastime should be for everybody,” Kunzman said during a break from the league’s opening ceremony. “A lot of people are being priced out, and I thought that was wrong, un-American. That was not what my father believed in.”

That is why Kunzman put his father’s name on the Foundation.

The inaugural donation — an oversized $5,000 check was presented before the first games of the season. Belen Little League board member Michele Todd said the money will be used to replenish basic items.

“It’s going to help us buy better quality equipment,” starting with catcher’s gear, according to Todd, who helps coach two teams and is the league’s equipment manager. “Unfortunately, the equipment we can afford doesn’t quite last as long as we’d like it to. It’s a wonderful amount of money.”

“It’s for multi-season impacts,” Kunzman added, from bases and balls to tees and jerseys which can be used for years. “In the future, we want to help solve bigger problems, things like helping with their facility, recruitment of new players, recruitment of coaches.”

As Kunzman contemplated a strategy, he reached out in December to Ray Birmingham, former University of New Mexico baseball coach. Birmingham travels the state giving clinics and preaching the benefits of the sport.

Kunzman recalled Birmingham saying, “I’m totally in, but I don’t want to be a part of a fly-by-night,” endeavor, without a long-term obligation.

The two were on the same page.

“Little League is ‘community’ and our communities are kind of fading a little bit,” Birmingham said, noting that efforts like this can help for years. “It’s not just today. It’s the start of a snowball effect.”

Kunzman said this “community” of support has come from old friends and new acquaintances.

He wanted the process to begin in the Albuquerque metro-area, and Belen was an obvious choice because his parents met at the Rio Communities golf course, where his dad was the club pro.

“The stars just aligned. As you can see, they already have an incredible community,” Kunzman observed as he looked around the complex packed with kids, parents and fans.

With his late father’s name attached to the effort, Kunzman said he’s in it for the long haul.

“This is not something I can walk away from,” he said. “It’s a big responsibility.”

Las Cruces and Albuquerque Little Leagues are future targets for Kunzman, who works in Real Estate Private Equity in Dallas.

“The goal is also to be in other states and help more kids. “I have a grand plan,” said Kunzman, who continues to fine tune the details. “The whole goal is to try and bring people together, keep kids playing.

“Then, in the future, expand the game to get more kids playing. It’s just about equality of opportunity.”