A 1997 Pittsfield Mets championship ring stolen from Wahconah Park on April 11 has been recovered, according to Baseball in the Berkshires Director Larry Moore.

PITTSFIELD — Larry Moore, director of Baseball in the Berkshires, was setting up the historical organization’s new museum space at Lee Premium Outlets recently when he heard the door open.

He recalls being busy on that Thursday afternoon, occupied with hanging baseball uniforms from the ceiling, so he couldn’t see who the visitor was. But he had grown used to calling out to curious visitors who wandered in to check out the space: “Sorry, we’re closed. We’ll open in a couple of weeks.”

The visitor left without a word; Moore heard the door close behind them, and went about his business.

He thought nothing of it until he finished his task, grabbed his coat and went to leave.

“And as I’m walking out, right on the table by the door, is a ring case,” he said. “And I open it up, and there it is.”

A 1997 Pittsfield Mets championship ring, stolen from a display case just five days earlier, had been returned.

“I was thrilled to have it back,” he said.

Community members were invited in to visit Wahconah Park during the city’s “Farewell to the Grandstand, Hello to the Future of Wahconah Park” event on April 11.

The ring, which features a blue stone emblazoned with a golden “P,” set off a citywide search when it was discovered to have been stolen midway through the “Farewell to the Grandstand at Wahconah Park” event on April 11.

The city had invited residents to take a final look at the park’s condemned grandstand and share their favorite memories before demolition began the following week. Baseball in the Berkshires had set up a display of baseball memorabilia to mark the occasion.

After the theft was discovered, the Pittsfield Police Department advised residents to reach out if they had seen any suspicious activity around the display case during the event, and to report any sightings of the ring in pawn shops or online marketplaces. Investigators worked to identify witnesses and reviewing any available surveillance footage to track down the culprit.

Inexplicably, the ring was silently returned to its rightful caretaker.

“It sort of gives you a renewed hope about people,” Moore said. “You know, people find out that something was wrong and how much it meant to us, that they decide to return it.”

Moore said he first received the ring about four or five years ago, when someone with a connection to a former Pittsfield Mets baseball player offered to loan it to the Baseball in the Berkshires collection.

The ring commemorates the city’s first postseason minor league championship win. On Sept. 8, 1997, the Pittsfield Mets secured the New York-Penn League title after a dramatic victory against the Batavia Clippers.

Manager Doug Davis presented the players with the rings the following spring. He said the players could hardly wait to receive them: “It was almost like Christmas and they were young kids again,” he told The Eagle at the time.

Baseball in the Berkshires Director Larry Moore speaks at the “Farewell to the Grandstand, Hello to the Future of Wahconah Park” event on April 11. A 1997 Pittsfield Mets championship ring that was stolen that day has been recovered, Moore says.

Moore said he still doesn’t know who the thief was. While that mystery may still be unsolved, he’s content for now just to have the ring back.

“I think just finding out that we have it back, and we're happy to have it back, is better than, you know, saying ‘Why’d you do it’ and ‘How’d you feel’ and so forth,” he said.

Moore said he reached out immediately to the investigating officer on the case once he saw the ring, and he believed the police investigation was no longer ongoing. Pittsfield police could not immediately confirm the status of the investigation Tuesday evening.

Now, Moore said, he looks forward to welcoming people to the new Baseball in the Berkshires location at Lee Premium Outlets. The museum will open to the public on May 8. From then on, it will be open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for baseball enthusiasts to learn more about their county’s ties to America’s pastime.

The museum’s collection will now feature some mementos recovered from the former grandstand, including seats, a locker and an old batting helmet, Moore said.

And, of course, the ring.

“I just hope everybody will come see the ring, because it will be on display,” Moore said.