Reply to "Is baseball declining?"

I'm not buying the premise here. Yes, it may be declining at a specific school in one area or another, but to make a sweeping generalization about an overall decline doesn't ring true. In our part of the world, baseball programs at the rec and travel levels continue to flourish. And I've yet to see one high school drop the sport, even among the inner-city schools where the sport isn't as strong and the resources aren't as great.

Baseball is booming on many levels, although there are always going to be spots where that's not the case, especially places where the weather isn't as conducive to playing much of the year. The sheer explosion of travel and showcase baseball is a signal that the sport has great appeal to many kids, even those still wearing Ninja turtle gloves.

Coach May, that story was priceless, and all too true from what I saw from a few high school tryouts. As for the bats, I also used to be one of those parents who told my son to stuff his bat in his bat bag when he got back to the dugout (hopefully, later rather than sooner, if you know what I mean). It drove me crazy that other kids wouldn't use their own equipment or the team equipment.