In my opinion, there is no such thing as "typical" baseball experience, be it high school, Legion or travel. The experience will vary depending on many factors, including socioeconomics, geographic location, education level (academic and baseball) of the parents, quality of coaches, commitment of players (and parents), ad infinitum. There are many paths to success (and failure). And there are many ways to define success and failure.
Just a few observations based on our experience. Please pardon the stream of consciousness.
There are people out there who will spend $50,000-$100,000 on travel ball over the course of their sons' "careers". I know a couple that did. Most don't go that far. Did they get their "money's worth?" Only they can answer that.
We chose to take a different path, for the most part. Son played travel ball only once. But, he and I worked on baseball pretty much year round. He had one of those HS coaches who repeatedly tried to influence (I'm trying to be polite here) him to play on the travel team in which the coach had a financial interest. He did so, for one fall season, when he was in the 10th grade. It was a total waste of time. Lots of unkept promises about playing at Jupiter and at various major college sites. Lots of games against some sorry teams. And only 2-3 practices the whole season.
Are kids and parents being "pressured" to do the travel scene? We were, and not just by the HS coach. When my son was coming up I had numerous parents and youth level travel team coaches telling me he "NEEDS TO DO THIS." Sometimes they were well meaning. Sometimes they were just looking to stack a team. Sometimes the pressure was subtle. Sometimes it was overt. After he committed to a college, the premier travel team in the state came calling. This team traveled all over the country. One of the coach's sales pitches was a scare tactic. Son needed to get used to the travel now, because he had seen kids get to college and quit because they weren't used to it. The coach/owner of the No. 2 team also came calling. His pitch was also a scare tactic, "Legion ain't gonna cut it, you call XXXX (recruiting coordinator at college son had committed to) and ask him." I already had, and he didn't care.
Are parents being sold a Bill of Goods? Sometimes. We certainly were. But frankly, I don't think that coaches misleading parents/players is that big a problem. Word gets around, and guys that do that aren't going to be in the game for long. (Hopefully).
One of the main problems I always had with travel ball in MY area is that it is generally what I call Show Up And Play Baseball, especially in the older age groups. There is usually not a whole lot of practice/instruction involved. HOWEVER, from what I have read on the HSBBW, there are some areas of the country that do have great programs featuring lots of practice/instruction. You guys are lucky. It's not like that everywhere.
Is baseball becoming the sport of the affluent? Absolutely. There are some travel teams around that will "scholarship" a kid that can't afford to pay. But, there aren't many that will do that. And you can bet that the kid they scholarship is usually going to be a kid that is already a decent player. They're not going to take many true "projects."
Does your kid HAVE TO play travel ball to get a chance to play college ball? No. Mine is living proof. He played pretty high level college ball at a good baseball school, had a decent career, and is now taking his shot in the minors. But frankly, I'm not sure how many people can do what he/we did these days. I still coach a little rec ball, and I tell the parents that if their kids want to continue to play they need more. Some may be able to do it on their own, but not very many. For most, private lessons and/or some form of travel ball may be the only option they have, IF they can afford it.
What we are seeing IN MY AREA is something of a three tiered system of Rec Ball (LL, Ripken, etc.), Serious Travel Ball, and what I call Weekend Ball. Another poster called it Travel Light, and that's a good way of putting it. I think the Travel Light players and parents are the ones that are being most mislead. But, I'm not sure it's so much that the coaches are misleading them as it is they are misleading themselves. I've watched some of these teams play, and it's basically Rec Ball On The Weekends. Maybe the parents feel better saying that their kids are on a "Travel Team", but if they don't practice much, the head coach is the SS's dad, and they're playing the same teams they used to play in Rec Ball, what are they accomplishing?
Some would have you believe that everything is fine and dandy in the world of travel ball. One last story. On the day my son was being "offered" by his future college coach, I stood to the side talking to the recruiting coordinator. While we waited, he started talking about having to go to East Cobb to scout a tournament, and how he HATED going there anymore. I was shocked and asked why. This is not a direct quote, but it's pretty close. "It's the parents and the kids. All of the kids are just playing for themselves and swinging for the fences. I want to see kids playing the game the right way, and you don't always get that there. And then you've got the parents in the stands yelling at them, complaining about umpires and coaches, and trying to talk to you about their kids." But that was 6 years ago, so maybe things have changed.