PWREDS: I do think you have a point. It does seem that baseball is becoming a Country Club sport. How many financially disadvanged players do you see playing ball these days? Very few. Certainly none on our HS team, our travel teams or our showcase team. Just look at the cars they drive, the bats they swing, and the clothes they wear. We are losing half our audience(players and fans) because they give up on the game early on. Still, I don't think that this is the main reason for baseball declining. IMHO, it's the unethical side of running baseball as a business that has caused it's decline. Steriods, lack of loyalty to a team and unbalanced paying power that are killing our sport. So yeah, I have to agree. Money is the route of all evil.
I do want to make one note about talented players going unnoticed. You do have to have impressed someone that has influence in order to get seen. Parents are so savvy these days about contacting coaches that college programs get hundreds of emails. If you don't have a coach that a)believes in you and b)has some credibility with the college coach, you leave it up to chance that you will get seen. Unless you are a stud, being on the right team or playing against the right team is key.
But also know that talented players are sometimes passed by on purpose. Perhaps what they saw off the field or in the stands turned off the recruiters. Sometimes you don't know the whole story.