Two men face charges after allegedly stealing $93,000 worth of baseball memorabilia belonging to Major League Baseball player Daniel Johnson and his fiancée, Alison Wysong. The men are accused of breaking into Johnson’s storage unit and several other units in Phoenix, Arizona.
A day after requesting public assistance in identifying the suspects, Phoenix police took the two men into custody. Police said the two suspects were trying to sell a pair of shoes at a pawn shop when a worker recognized them on security footage and contacted authorities. Police reportedly found important evidence while executing a search warrant at the suspects’ residence.
According to Phoenix Sgt. Sheree Lee, who spoke to ABC 15 News, the stolen goods included shirts, hoodies, jackets, shorts, batting gloves, hats, laptops, and purses. Johnson and Wysong said that they were storing the clothing and other belongings in the unit while their house was being renovated.
Several of the items that were stolen were irreplaceable
“I’ve had all the same gear from multiple teams,” Johnson told Fox 10 News. “A lot of the other things were replaceable. But when it comes to the baseball… apparel and memorabilia that I had for over my 10 years… it really was a gut buster because I knew that unless I played for all those teams, there’s no guarantee that I get that stuff back.”
Johnson said that he had intended to give some of the stolen goods to charitable organizations.
“Very personal to me to, you know, to give back to the kids. Cause I once was those little kids, you know,” Johnson said.
Daniel Johnson has played for the Cleveland Guardians, Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros during his MLB career. In eight games with the Astros in 2026, he had two hits in 14 at-bats. He split the rest of the season playing in Triple-A and the Mexican League.
“It does sound like people really have been impacted, not just us. And we’re hoping that our story is the one that really nails the guys and that everybody else can really get their belongings back as well,” Wysong said.
Professional athletes continue to be affected by burglaries
While Sgt. Sheree Lee claimed Daniel Johnson “wasn’t targeted in any way” because the suspects “were going through the facility, breaking locks to get inside,” several other pro athletes can’t say the same.
In August, Max Iheanachor, a rookie offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers, had at least $150,000 worth of items stolen from his home by burglars while he was at a preseason game.
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was also recently the victim of a home burglary while he was at training camp, with over $300,000 worth of property stolen.
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley had his Pennsylvania home broken into by two people in July. And in December, WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu and former NFL lineman Hroniss Grasu had their Los Angeles home broken into and burglarized.
Several alleged members of a South American theft group were arrested by law enforcement last year after breaking into the houses of professional athletes. Two pawn shop operators were also accused by the authorities of operating a fencing business and selling the athletes’ stolen property. Unfortunately, burglars have continued to break into professional athletes’ homes since their arrests.