Baseball Equipment

Per "Braves" advice, I took it upon myself to start a thread regarding the increasing costs associated with the game we all love...baseball. The prices we are asked to pay for the equipment is outrageous and I pity those who have to purchase catchers equipment as well. While most schools supply some of the equipment, most of the costs are passed along to the parents and we all know how hard of a hit that can be to the wallet. This is one of the main reasons that inner-city kids are turned off by our sport, it has just become to darn expensive.

Imagine if the schools started requiring football players to provide their helmets and pads, how many kids would show up for tryouts? The problem with baseball is how "specialized" it's became. A different glove for every position seems to be the new marketing scheme by the major suppliers. Do players really need 2 or 3 gloves in their bat bag to play multiple positions? OK, I agree every team needs 2 catchers mitts and a 1B mitt and it's time that some of our "booster clubs" pick up the tabs on these, along with the catchers gear. Some do already, but if you play at a school where the baseball team is no more than an afterthought, the parents are forced to foot the bill.

Bats seem to be a "cash cow" for the big suppliers and it has gotten way out of hand. No bat is worth more than $200 in my opinion, if a player can hit it's not because of the bat he uses, it's because of his ability.

There are ways to cut costs, but it takes a team effort, such as:
1) Pool money and buy a bat - Find a couple of parents and pitch in to purchase a bat to share during the season. It's better to pay $100 than $400 for a bat that will be outdated the following season.
2) Share gloves, we all know that an OF glove is larger than an IF glove but if a kid plays both OF and IF he shouldn't have to have both.
3) Contact your "booster club" and see if they can direct more funds to help purchase equipment and ease the finiancial burden on the parents.

If anyone has any ideas or recommendations to add, I know all of us would appreciate the advice. Also if you run across any sales, close-outs or want to rate your recently purchased equipment that would be fantastic!

 

Remembering the days when the coach brought the bat bag to practice, and you swung what he had. In HS, we had 1 team alluminum bat ... just a big ol heavy slab of green . If you couldn't swing it at the knob you choked up to where you could ...

 

old Green Easton bats

We had that green Easton for all four years too--never heard of life expectancy of a bat before...wooden bats we thought we could recycle we used nail brads to hold together another few games too.

 

Pooling money to buy a bat sounds like a good idea, but I'm wondering how long that bat is going to last. Let's say 5 people go in and buy one bat, & those 5 players are all sharing that bat. Well, chances are that bat will be cracked faster, and then the one replacement you get (warranty) also cracks quicker. The bat manufacturers will tell you that under normal circumstances you can only expect a bat to last 4-5 months (if you're lucky), if used frequently by one player.

 

Baseball has become too "exclusive"...much like golf. Unlike other sports, it's a game that you learn in stages. It's not something where a terrific athlete can resume where he left off after missing a couple of years. Nor is it a sport that allows someone to start during their HS years and through sheer athleticism to be able to conquer. It's like a good bottle of wine. The more you age in the sport, the better you will be.

You couple the years of the learning curve with the expense of the sport and it forces exclusions of others. But it ain't going to change and you need to find ways to adapt. This thread has many good possibilities to offer good suggestions. Weyco did a good job in getting it started, and I hope others will offer more advice.

I don't want to encourage dealers to start trying to advertise in here, but I like the idea of our members to use a thread to "sell" their equipment to other members. We should get some great bargains that will help other families reduce the cost of shoes, gloves, bats, and other baseball equipment.

Last year I went through the house and found bats, balls, gloves, shoes, batting gloves and other stuff that either I forgot I had or just didn't know it. I donated them to a baseball team, but in the same line of thinking, if you have something of "value" that you no longer need or want, and you believe it could be of value to someone else, post it in here. That way we will all benefit.

If this is something that our members would like to do, let me know and I will post a thread for that purpose and place it as a stickie. That way we don't flood the forum with threads for sale...or donate.

 

Usually only about 3 kids are interested in the same bat and you would have to take size in consideration (Length and drop), but trust me this option works. I've noticed the bats are actually getting cheaper, so a $300 bat between 3 kids is a bargain. True that 5 players using the same bat is excessive, but on our team kids switch bats all the time.

 

Braves you are all on it, I looked around also and found $550.00 worth of gloves (no Braves not that fancy Italian model) I have 7 bats and 10 batting helmets (some have face mask) 4 top of the line bat bags and servicable cleats, belts of every color, pants and socks. The sad thing it's just there collecting dust, (while some kid is throwing a tennis ball against the wall and dreaming of throwing a perfect game in game 7 of the World Series), we all have equipment laying around that would be like gold to less fortunate kids.

I'm not rich and struggle making ends meet also, everything I have bought for my son has been a birthday or Christmas present. We talked today about what to do with his older equipment and you know what... kids get it, he remembers in youth league ball, kids not having a belt or a decent glove and he felt sad and wishes to donate. I agree with my genius son, giving a "broken-in" glove or a pair of used cleats to a kid with nothing, may not make him a MLB ballplayer, but I guarantee he would always remember that 4 year old "Mizuno" glove he received as a act of kindness.

Braves "paid it forward" by donating his used equipment and I will do the same, because if it changes the life of a kid or brings a moment of happiness to a less fortunate one, that is worth it's weight in gold. Baseball is America's past time and no kid should be denied the opportunity to participate, no matter his family's income.

 

without braves help we wouldnt have been able to field a jv team this year. inner city kids just do not have the funds to be able to afford all of the gear to play baseball. coaching at a school that is about 95% minority is tough.

 

Once again Braves...a great idea. I'm not sure about selling equipment on TBR, but tips on finding bargains, sales and rating your purchases. Would make a great sticky. Also those in need of donated equipment or where we could donate equipment.