baseball economics

here's a how-much question for you baseballers:

how much $ would a family spend in one "average" year if their son played baseball year round?

if possible ... break it down by equipment, travel, coaching, association dues, etc.

i'm thinking high school ball in the spring, AAU/legion in the summer, fall ball and then some indoor stuff (batting cage, some coaching) in the winter.

thanks ...

 

My guess......

Either own one or rob one .... that is a bank!!!

 

Cost of Baseball

What a good question!!! Her is an estimate of our expenses for 2003 year.

Travel/Gas/lodging/Food: $1,500
Camps/Showcases: 1,000
Travel Team: 500
Equipment: 450

Total Expenses: $3,450

This is a low number because some team/training facilities can cost this much by themselfs. Hope this helps.

 

I see a problem....

Baseball is the GAME OF LIFE! Alot in FACT the majority of people in this world live below the "poverty line" yet young people in the world dream of success in athletic venues! No money often times presents no opportunity NOT 100% but let s admit it does make for a disadvantage! Learn about the story in reference to Duke's new freshman basketball sensation as an example! Heck it costs 200 dolars just to participate in MARA doesn t it? People in other parts of Charlotte have NO money at all to invest in there child s future no wonder our nation and the world is so crime ridden!? YES I do realize there is "scholarship" opportunities but not enuf... Should be as it was in the "old school days" you show up sign up and play w/o these "tryouts" in which you have coaches that BOTTOM LINE want to win and not necessarily teach the love for the game as well as fundamentals.. What do ya think?

 

sounds like a problem to me too! does all this $ being spent by some take the "fun" out of the game?

and thanks for #s highntight - that's some MAJOR coin in most family budgets! i suspected that the number might run in the low to mid 4 figures.

easy to see why the "have-not" high school baseball teams have a tough time competing.

 

I thought this thread might lead to a "have vs have not's" disussion so I've waited until now to post. Until a family has participated, including sacrificing, for their son(s) to play baseball at a "higher level", it can't be explained to someone who has not.

Over the past 6-7 years our family has spent enough on baseball travel, equipment, lessons, etc., to probably pay for three years of college. Sounds like a lot to the family that has not participated, but these are the benefits we gained:

1. Invaluable experience for the player to measure his ability against the best players in the area/state/country.

2. Family time together nearly every weekend all year. Mom, Dad, sons and daughters traveling, staying in hotels, etc.

3. Meeting all the great families your son plays with and against. Developing lifetime frienships. Learning how to interact with people with different lifestyles and lifeviews.

I know this thread is for baseball, but what about all of the kids who go to Nike basketball camps, McDonald's tournaments, soccer camps and tournaments. If this world were not competitive then, as some posters would like to think, every student would tryout for their high school teams and nobody would be cut. Everybody would play in every game. Then everyone would play Legion baseball and all of the scouts would come to the games. And finally, all the players would receive full athletic scholarships to the college of their choice. Life just doesn't work this way.

Personally, we've made choices. Dad's vehicle is a '95 with 169,000 miles. Mom drives a '97 van with 130,000 miles. We've decided that doing what we want to do is more important than what we do it in. Now I'm rambling. But as I said in the beginning, you can't explain your decisions to someone who hasn't made the same choices.

Whether it's basketballs and shoes, or bats and gloves, or Playstations and video games, everyone makes a choice. Ours just happens to be baseball.

 

Nice Post SouthLoop. How do you put a value on quality time with family. The answer is... you can't. I have no idea how may $$ our family has spent sending our son to camps, showcases, tryouts, or playing on travel teams, legion teams and high school. It really dosen't matter. He has grown physically and mentally into a pretty bright and good kid and a lot of that has to do with his associations through baseball. It has helped to keep him out of trouble and off doing something he shouldn't. He has had the opportunity to think he was "hot stuff", find out that he was not all that hot after all and make the decision to improve his game, his schoolwork and his outlook so that he can show other folks the kind of person he is. The reward for him is a chance to play a great sport, be pretty good at it and through it gain friendship and respect from his peers. Our reward as parents comes when another parent on the team or from another team compliment him on the kind of person he is not just that he played a good game. As a parent, that is all you can ask for. So, as for the $$, everyone has to make choices. Our choice was to support our son and drive the 93 ford and hope it makes it just one more year! One other thing. As baseball parents, we have the ability to make a difference in the lives of the ball players our sons compete with. If it is by hosting a cookout, taking the boys down to the field for some infield or just acting like adults at a game instead of some attila the hun loud mouth, we all can do a little that goes a long way towards making the team and our sons know that we appreciate them and support them. Sometimes, that can make all the difference.

I better get off this soap box!

Happy Holidays!

 

What a great post...well thought out and well said. Good job cougardad.

One of things you mentioned was the associations the kids have with each other. As a parent, we are always concerned who our kids pick as friends. I must say, in our case, I am relieved that the kids my son has chosen to be his friends have the same drive and commitment to excel in whatever their lives lead them....How do you put a price on that?

 

baseball has been good to my son..the expense has been very costly, but Coach Mike Croninger, of the Mid-Atlantic Rookies, told me and my son that what we were looking for was that 1 college coach who like what my son did on the baseball field enough to make him an offer. That's what baseball facilities, camps, show cases, and fall ball is all about. Finding that 1 college coach who likes our son....

baseball and showcases have taken my son as far north as Canada, i will not tell you how much the plane ticket cost. he was given a job, yes he earned money that summer, room, and food. he played tourneys on week-ends, ( i wish i could have seen him when he threw the no hitter). That team won the Canadian Provincials and he brought back a Gold Medal and he still is in contact with some of the Canadians he played with. When he showcased on the Rookies team, Coach Croninger made sure all kids were looked at. Pitchers only threw for 3 innings, no matter what the score or how well each did, they were there to be showcased. i have worked him through a 12 week conditioning program, no throwing or hitting, and when Jan. rolled around he was ready..

we drove to Harrisburg Va. one Sat. in an '83 Ford van with over 200,000 miles on it. he pitch 3 scoreless innings and next day got 1 at bat..he was there as a pitcher.. next week-end was at Coastal Carolina...we got rained out....he did throw a bull pen for 6 coaches though...

i'm self employed in a profession that requires you to be ready when the phone rings, if you don't answer the phone you have lost the business...i can't tell you how much income i have lost from going to showcases, or coaching my son and other kids..
was it worth it?...did we find that 1 college coach? i have 14 letters i can show you from D-1 to JUCO...my son lost his passion for the game and is working instead of going to school and playing ball...would i do it again? absolutly....there are showcase teams and coaches who are in it for the kids and not the money...

i gave him the opportunity and someday he will go to college, but he probably won't play baseball...he and i play a round of golf each week..we are very close and the relationship we have is priceless....

 

playme.........

Great post and i have seen the same on the softball side(girls)!
Oldest DD was a good pitcher and recruited by several D2 teams but in her case wanted to go to a D1 academic environment(NCState/full ride) and choose not to play collegiately after all the investments: time, dedication, heart, 8 weeks of winter conditioning, lessons, camps, traveling across the country for those years since she was 10 yrs old....................................teaching in Raleigh, coaching and earning her Masters............Priceless! She just reminded me that she wouldnt trade it for nothing and neither would we!
Happy Holidays to all you baseballers and contiune the dedication it requires to be sucessful ......period! Money well spent!!!!



forgive me for the girly stuff and thanks for all the great insight for those coming through the system! Wonderful Forum Gang!!!