POLL: Are Kids Getting Priced Out of Baseball and Softball?

Pondeli Hajioannou April 28, 2012 at 12:04 pm

It is not different then my line of work, personal training. You can go to any gym and hire yourself a personal trainer. And sure enough you will get the just got certified kid to work with you. And wait for equipment with all the other gym members. Or you can work with me that have almost 3 decade’s worth of experience and in a private gym where you never wait for equipment. So yes you can get a stick and a ball like kids did years ago in streets in major cities. Or you can hire an experience pro to work with you kid and pay for best equipment. On a side note we work with high school athletes every now and then when their parents want them to get the edge over others. I can tell you a young lady came to us years ago as a high school athlete and went on to become MVP ever single year she played in college and play professionally after college. Bottom line is you get what you paid for.

Mike Gospodarek April 28, 2012 at 12:56 pm

Being in that specific market, there is no arguing that the higher end bats and gloves have hefty price tags attached to them, baseballs and softballs have increased as much as 5 per dozen over the last year for that matter. But with that said, all of the manufacturers have choices in all price points, from low to high end. So, to me, consumers do have the choice, and we can still play sandlot baseball , just like we use to
Mike Gospodarek Extra innings - Bensalem

AidanJ April 30, 2012 at 12:05 pm

Thanks for the info Mike. I've been to Extra Innings to hit in the batting cages. I'll have to check out your equipment shop.

Don Lafferty May 1, 2012 at 08:34 pm

The cost of high end equipment - and that's what we're talking about here - is one symptom of an even larger issue. The athletic scholarship sweepstakes.
At the highest end of the competitive spectrum in every youth sport, the pressure to perform makes the cost of the equipment a small price to pay in the big picture, especially when kids as young as 9 or 10 are being hauled halfway across the country to play the very same game many of us played at our local playgrounds. So is $250 too much to spend on a baseball bat? Not if it means the difference between a $120,000 scholarship and a $15,000 scholorship. And trust me, the rapid advances in equipment technology, especially in the past 10 years, make a significant difference in athletic performance. Technology won't make a scholarship candidate out of a poor player, but those players at the highest end of the talent scale will take any [legal] advantage they can get in the scholarship sweepstakes.

Joe Hart (Editor) May 2, 2012 at 01:48 am

Great comments. Thanks Pondeli, Mike and Don.