SARASOTA, Fla. (SNN) – A young baseball fanatic lost a priceless binder Saturday at a spring training game in Sarasota now the community is now trying to help him find it and replenish his collection
11-year-old Elyjah Blankenberg said he lost a binder full of cards at Ed Smith Stadium when his favorite team the New York Yankees played the Baltimore Orioles.
“His little league buddy was going to show him the ropes of autographs because he’s never really done that at spring training. It was just amazing that he got DJ LeMahieu’s autograph and Josh Donaldson. It was a special moment,” Elyjah’s father John said.
Elyjah believes he lost his binder after the game on the way to the Yankees bus to get more autographs.
“We went like over there to get some more autographs, and I must’ve dropped my binder somewhere, and someone took it,” Elyjah said.
Elyjah’s mom Colleen turned to social media asking for anyone who found it to return it to her son. But she didn’t expect it to get thousands of shares on Facebook and Twitter.
“Within hours it just started blowing up,” Colleen said.
Even the Baltimore Orioles shared Elyjah’s story.
“If anyone saw Elyjah’s binder at our game on 3/19, please share any info that could help us track it down!” The Orioles tweeted Tuesday in a show of support.
Not only are people sharing Elyjah’s story to help him find his binder, but other card collectors are also ready to donate their own cards so he can rebuild his collection.
“Completely overwhelmed by the amount of generosity and kindness from people all over the place,” John Blankenberg said.
Topps has since reached out in hopes of sending some goodies to Elyjah.