Fees for a pitcher

I think if you want on the roster, then all should pay the same amount.

Think of it this way, in pro ball, would the pitcher be willing to get paid a prorated amount for only the innings they pitched?

From a catcher's dad perspective, your asking a catcher to pay full price for the summer, catch all those games in the heat, dropping and blocking to help make those reduced rate pitchers look good? How do you think that would work out?

Bottom Line--he is a member of the team

I guess you have to evaluate the options, factor in cost and where they are playing, exposure, motels, meals out, everything. we had a kid last year that ended up pitching about 12 innings all year, not the most expensive, but more than enough. We have a friend who has his kid on a very high profile team, and he's seen limited action due to calibre of others. The $ they spend is almost 1/2 of fees to a good private school when all is factored in (winter training, fall ball and florida/arizona).

Many times a showcase team will waive the fees for a high profile pitcher. The team figures that the other players will all benefit from the significant attention that he will attract from schools.

quote:

Originally posted by STG Daddy:
Wanted to get people's thoughts on this one- for showcase tournaments, should a kid who will pitch a couple of innings twice a week be required to pay the same amount of money to be part of a travel team as a position player who plays most,if not all,the time.
Just curious as to people's experiences.

Will the net of the situation be your son gets exposure and gets to college ball just like everyone else on the team? If so, why should be pay less for the same end result?

I would be careful about having teams wave fees for a tournament.

The fact is that a lot of showcase teams, camps and showcases charge less for "pitcher only". They do charge full fees for pitchers who also want to play a position.

It isn't a should or shouldn't thing. It is what each team, camp or showcase offers and what you decide to do in response is up to you.

If TR's organization charges full fees for pitchers and the pitchers think they are getting their money's worth then that's fine. If another organization charges less for pitchers and gets a few more pitchers into the fold then that's fine too.

The key is don't sign up for full fees and then after the fact complain because a different organization doesn't charge full fees for pitchers.

Its an interesting point, especially when money is so tight these days. My son is a pitcher only on his summer team who will get one start in a 5-6 game tourney or showcase event. You hope the right people are there that one day he plays because that is what you are primarily paying for, however I try to keep in mind that you are also paying for that solid defense that helps make the pitcher look good as well, so I think it all equals out...tough part for the kid is sitting for 3-4 games when he is an everyday player in HS. Tough part financially is the expense for hotels and travel costs for the player and parent since most coaches prefer you stay through the entire event and not just show up for your game. And hey, if you already wrote the check its a mute point anyway, right?

Both of my sons are pitchers.

Pay the full fee. Not a close call.

My son has done both catching and pitching for summer teams and the cost was the same.
I kind of look at it this way, a pitcher may be only in a game for 3 or 4 innings or 60 or more pitches, but in those innings, he is involved in every pitch along with the catcher. The fielders may get 3 or 4 balls a game and 4 or 5 at bats. It sort of works out when you look at action involvement.

Then on the other hand, I think the other players should pay the catcher, they get all the abuse and 10 percent more money on a 95 degree plus day.

We have had several different experiences. Son is a pitcher/1b. Everyone pays the same amount on his regular summer team, but there are 2 "pitcher only" players who are only required to be at the game they will be pitching. They are both starters. It is their choice to come earlier to stay later at tournaments. I guess the organization feels the money that is saved in hotel/meal expenses balances out the reduced playing time.

Son was also invited to participate in an out of state tournament with another team. This team is made up primarily of friends and kids he played with when he was younger. They are not asking us to pay a fee, just our travel expenses.

STG;

He will also shag foul balls [helps the leg muscles];
play catch w/ the left fielder or RF between innings[helps the arm muscles]; stand next to the catcher in the bullpen [helps track the batted ball];
chart pitches [helps the memory of a hitter's weakness]and bring the coach water from his mother or father.

Scouts and college coaches observe "off field" behavior and "on field".

This weekend with 12 teams, 24 games and 400 players and parents, it was a study of Social Psychology 501.

Bob Williams

Considering that there are more pitchers drafted and/or offerred scholarships than position players, the fee works out.

The only break pitchers may usually get is that they may not have to be at every game. This would save on travel and hotel.

As Bob points out as well, if you catch someone's eye, your social interactions could have an effect on your evaluation.

It is not always the best thing when a college coach comes up to as manager of the team and asks you "where is Johnny XYZ?" They like to see the player with the team , cheering them on and begging for another inning or two if needed in a game

Should a catcher ask to not be at game one of a doubleheader if he knows he is slated to be the catcher in game two ?

quote:

They like to see the player with the team , cheering them on ...

Given the nature of showcase rosters even position players don't play all the time. I can tell my son is bored on the bench when he starts showcasing his bat boy skills.

All of our pitchers are pitcher only. It is very rare when they do anything else. With the high cost of travel, motel room, food etc I think its only fair to give these kids the option of coming on their days off or not. If a kid is going to throw on Friday night why should they have to pay for a motel Friday night, Sat night and food etc for the entire weekend when they are not going to be back on the field the rest of the weekend?

I leave it up to the pitcher and I tell them in advance when they are going to throw. This allows them to plan and make the choice. It saves them a ton of money. I would much rather have them back at home working out, saving some cash than sitting in the dugout the rest of the weekend. At WWBA events when you will recycle arms over the course of a week thats a different story.

As far as the fee's there are kids who do get a reduced rate but it is in situations where their financial situation dictates it. It has nothing to be with their ability or posistion they play. Just my 2 cents.

I haven't posted in awhile but I have a reason why I am now.
Players should pay all fees, regardless of the position they play. Fees cover insurance, uniforms, field rental and umpires. In reality, coaches and scouts are out looking for pitchers more than any other player. They are the ones who most likely will get the biggest return for the fees paid.
My son never played for any coach that reduced fees and he never played for a coach that allowed any player not to show up. While I understand that times are different, parents have limited resources due to job loss, and travel is expensive, that's the coaches call. As coach May posts, it is up to the coach to set his rules about showing up if you are not pitching have no problem with that. But he still should pay the same fee as everyone else.

This is what I have a problem with, coaches charging some players full costs while others little because the coach feels they need that player, either to win (or to get him on his team) or to get coaches and scouts over to see his team play. That's a no no in my book, in fact that is taking advantage, bigtime. It happens all of the time, and players and their parents know who pays what and who doesn't (word travels fast).
Worse of all is paying your share and sitting the bench, while others don't pay and play. Some may say those are hardship cases, well when son played and he had players with hardships the whole team raised money and so did the ones running the show to cover all expenses. That's part of the managers and coaches responsibility, find ways to raise funds for those who can't afford it, instead of having others on the team pay that players way. Coaches have a right to set fees to cover their own expenses (if not making money off of the team) but if you are so into helping kids get seen, give up your share for those who can't pay, instead of taking advantage of those who can afford it.

JMO.

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We miss you TPM!

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quote:

Originally posted by STG Daddy:
Wanted to get people's thoughts on this one- for showcase tournaments, should a kid who will pitch a couple of innings twice a week be required to pay the same amount of money to be part of a travel team as a position player who plays most,if not all,the time.
Just curious as to people's experiences.

If he played professionally, should he get paid less than all position players because he only plays in 20-25% of the games?

i agree completely with TPM and Backstop-17....you don't pro-rate fees for the amount of playing time for position players. besides i can't imagine my pitcher-only not wanting to be with his team no matter where they are playing.

my 3 cents worth......

How about the fact that the coaching staff can work with the pitcher during his down time on the tournament weekend?

Doesn't the fee cover instruction?

End of season playoffs. Weekend 1 he had other obligations on Saturday and pitched on Sunday when they needed him. Weekend 2 we drove 6 hours total on Saturday to sit through a doubleheader only to find out that they needed him on Sunday. We drove 3+ hours total on Sunday. He threw enough innings on Sunday that he wasn't going to pitch on Monday. We weren't going to make that drive again on Monday regardless.

During the regular season he showed up on his day to pitch and that was it. As a JC "redshirt" he had a commitment to be at the college games to watch ahead of playing for the spring team.

We paid full price for the league knowing what the deal was going in. Some kids played a position and pitched and paid the same price. We got a fair shake, it doesn't matter what anyone else got for their money. Isn't there a parable about that?

On the other hand if they had charged us less for pitcher only we wouldn't have minded.

08Son played on a number of different travel teams - nearly always as a pitcher only. Never crossed my mind for him to pay less - nor was it ever mentioned.

As for only showing up when scheduled to pitch - I can see that for run of the mill week day games or minor weekend events - but not for the big ones like WWBA. Having said that, 08Son only ever missed a couple of games when he had family events which conflicted (e.g. HS Graduation) - and the coaches knew about it well in advance.