How much money do you spend for baseball on your child each year?

Sharing memories of sunshine, hotdogs, baseball and being with your son...

Priceless.

Are we trying to start a divorce?

Coaching cost my wife and I a couple of thousand/year. I know you wanted what parents spend but this is from a Coach's perspective. Incidently, we spent $625 this past week on Christmas gifts for my coaching staff. I'm not easy to work with and so, I need to do alot for them. They are a great bunch of guys and the kids really appreciate these guys.

On an annualized basis thousands of $$...it's not about the money. If it was I would have invested in the stock market.

For us it is about trying to give our son a chance at his dream...but what it has done is made him more disciplined about his future and certainly a much more focused person about what he wants.

As a friend of ours said if they're not on drugs and they haven't gotten anyone pregnant we're half-way home.

Pic-

I watched A Few Good Men this weekend. I can relate.

C'mon, Hokie, 'fess up. How much? Desperate Housewives is on later...

Li,
If you think you are entering your last year of spending, ha, ha, rethink that sentence.
If your son is fortunate to get a scholarship, think of whatever you spent as an investment in his future, and think the same when he enters college. In other words, it never STOPS!
Also, remember it is not what you spend, but what you spend it on.

Thank you everyone for your input. But I would really like to know what others have spent on an annual basis. I know that I will be spending money on my kids for the rest of my life. I'm just trying to figure out what others allocate for this. After all, the IMG camp down in Florida can cost $30 to 35K a year.

Good question. I haven’t spent any money on "baseball" going on three years now. He’s in his third year at a major D-I and ALL baseball expense is covered from sliding pants to practice socks. Unlike high school where the parents ultimately end up buying just about everything, at a major college, anything you can think of that has to do with baseball equipment or clothing is paid for. His summer ball at Cape Cod was also provided at no charge, travel included. At the Cape he was required to get a part-time job so this offset his $50.00 per week room and board to his host family. Since he started to college his mother and I spend more during the spring baseball season with travel, lodging, and meals. We also spent a week in Cape Cod this summer but I wouldn’t categorize these as a true baseball expenses. The junior and senior years of high school are notorious for increase expenses with showcases, camps, travel and other items related to recruiting and the draft. I had to buy three aluminum bats during his senior year of high school at over $200.00 a pop… plus four special order maple bats and numerous other wood bats. Batting gloves are a big expense too…I used to spend over $50.00 a month just in batting gloves. Trust me I’m not complaining about baseball expense. I can’t think of a more rewarding way to spend one’s money.
Fungo

Oldest son is now back at school after Thanksgiving break. Tab: round trip to fly him home, $250; feeding him for 4 days, $160.00; money slipped to him by dad upon arrival after seeing $3.00 in his wallet-period, $80.00, Sponsorship money for fund-raising 100 inning marathon fund-raiser, $300, money slipped into his wallet by dad before he left, $120.00, Cinn-A-Bon at the airport, $5.00, 4 days with our boy at home, priceless.

Precentage of all this covered by his scholly, 0%.

Glad the scholarship covers so much... Wouldn't trade this for the world.

hokie....Great story. Same here except for the $300 for the marathon...We'll get "hit" for something in the spring.

As my son said: "Thank God for dads, too."

It started with a little black glove when he was 7.... $32.00

About $28.00 on Tony Gwynns and Ted Williams Hitting books.

Started tinkering with things that could be training aids.... $100,000.

Probably more than I should have, but starting in the Winter, pitching intructor;

Spring, donation to HS team for 100 inning game;

Summer, Team cost, Team trips to Nashville, Myrtle Beach,& Allentown;

Showcase, Wake Forest;

4 visits to check out prospective colleges;

Fall Team cost and fall showcase.

My wife and I look at this way, he's has made a lot of friendships for life with his various teammates over the past several years. He has not been hanging around with thugs, dopeheads, and trouble makers. He has been with quality kids during the "teen" years, which tends to be a time when kids can either go bad or become good law abiding citizens.

And the look on his face when he got the call to sign a couple of weeks ago, well, you can't put a price on that.

Bottom line, yes, we've spent a lot, but it's been an investment and you know it's been a pretty fun time along the way too!

CV

limom84.....

You had to bring this up, didn't you????

Lets see.....camp last January, spring and summer high school ball, travel ball expenses (out-of-town tournaments, equipment, hotels/motels, airplanes, 1 summer showcase, food, handful of lessons, gasoline, 1 fall camp and 3 camps during x-mas break (we are visiting 2 schools), will be at about 1, 2, 3, 4......OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is only a junior, one daughter is married, and the other is getting married in June. He is are only son and the youngest family memeber. He's fantastic in school, no trouble at all, not into anything, has a nice girlfriend and wants to play baseball in college. Hopefully he will reach his goal of playing baseball in college. School seems to come easy for him.

S-o-o-o-o.....after I retire, and my wife and I are living out of a cardboard box, well maybe she won't be, (I know, I know, I did't have to have all of these expenses), I will have done what any parent could have or would have done for their offspring. I just want him to have an opportunity like anyone else. It will be up to him to follow through with his passion for baseball.

Like Beenthere said, priceless!!!

Money? I wonder how much money the parents of Mays Mantle AAron etc spent on them?

I think the spending can get totally out of hand. My son is a senior this year and has already signed his letter of intent for next year. He never wanted to play on the expensive travel teams that wanted him, he just basically played legion ball each summer for about $75 per season. In between his junior and senior year he attended two showcases which cost about $250-$300 each, and three times in the past four years he went to a pitching coach which cost $175 per session. Aside from the yearly cleats and a glove here and there (when he lost his - teenagers!!!!), we did not spend a lot. He is happy with his success and extremely comfortable with the D-1 college he will be attending next year. He/we could have taken the route that a lot of parents take by traveling all over the country, attending all sorts of showcases and spending all kinds of money, but he did not want that. I think the amount of money you spend is up to you...it could be an enormous amount with very little results or it could be very little with great results....it all depends on what your child wants...ask them first...the worst thing to do is to drag your children all over the place, spending all sorts of money..if it is not what they want..so before you ask us how much we spent on baseball...ask your kid what his goals are, and if your child is very young..be very careful and make sure he is happy with the pressure that all the travel and money spending brings.

I tend to think that this is sort of a private matter for each family.

Not all families have the same amount of funds available to them.

We actually had a great conversation about this with our minor league son the other day as we reflected on all the people who helped him out along the way.

For those of you who can't afford the extras, don't worry too much about it. Things have a way of working out. For those of you who often share your blessings with others, you're making a difference in someone's life.

Lessons travel teams select teams showcases etc etc. Is the money well spent? What determines that? Is the experience positive? Depends on who you talk to.

Most of us agree, it's not about the money and to put the experience into a dollar value is doing nothing but showing how much you have available to spend.

A relivent past-weekend story. It's 4am on Sunday morning my son lumbers in and explains he's been pouring friends out of his car at their homes as the designated driver. Then out of the blue he says. "I'm sure glad I have baseball to focus on because I could never lead that party life".

I'm sure he's had a few of those "special nights, and woeful mornings" where he has done what all college kids experience. But, I felt he was very sincere with this comment. I went back to bed thinking what a cheap investment baseball has been.

Let me remind everyone that deep pockets does NOT “make” a baseball player nor does a tight budget eliminate a ball player from success. Let me give you an example. My son played high school baseball with a player one year ahead of him. This player’s mother was divorced and in my opinion didn’t have the extra money to spend on showcases, camps, and select teams. After high school he went the JUCO route, did well at the JUCO, transferred to a D-I after his sophomore year, had a great junior season and was drafted in the 15th round. He's driving around in his new Tahoe and just finished his first year with the Astro’s organization.
Fungo

I almost hate to add it all up ... but in the end I know that what I'm investing in is memories our family will cherish forever, and a vision that is solely his ... regardless of what level my son is able to ultimately take his game.

The HS program, club tournaments, travel costs, showcases, equipment, hitting/pitching coaches, etc. all add up in a hurry ... but as long as these are activities where he is setting his own goals, driving himself to be his best and strive for a personal vision, then I'm happy to be making that investment in him. Regardless what level he takes his game after HS, I'll know that he's learned what it means to visualize a goal and have the personal drive and commitment to strive day in, day out to achieve it ... that's a life lesson the goes way beyond baseball. I'm not investing in baseball, I'm investing in his passion, and I know that through baseball he's learned how to take personal responsibility for being successful at anything he applies himself to.

If my investment in his baseball "life lesson" accomplishes just that, I'll be very happy. Anything beyond ... potential for college level playing time, scholarships, draft, etc., is all gravy by me ... and just a question of how far he can take it.

My parents spend no more than $500 on me each year. I sometimes wish they have more to spend, but it wouldn't matter anyway.

NO COMMENT

The direct costs are about the same as others have noted. The cost of spending time practicing with my son and coaching his teams instead of advancing my career...worth it ten times over.

This thread could have went 2 directions.

#1-We paid $ for this, $$ for this, $$$ for this, etc, etc.

or

#2-The way it is going so far.

That is, the money spent is not wasted money. It's investing in a future for your children. Not all of these players will go on to be major leaguers. In fact, most will not! However, all of them will enter the real world. The lessons learned, friendships made, fun had, etc. will all go a long way in all of their lives.

I just want to say thank to all the Moms and Dads out there for spending their hard earned money on baseball. Baseball is the greatest game on earth and their is no way to put a price tag on what you pay for. I promise you that there is no limit to what you will get in return.

Keep up the great posts. They are awesome!!!

Steve, Good post.

By the way. I always thought I was just along for the ride. (spending money of course)

quote:

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Originally posted by TromblyBaseball:
This thread could have went 2 directions.

#1-We paid $ for this, $$ for this, $$$ for this, etc, etc.

or

#2-The way it is going so far.

That is, the money spent is not wasted money. It's investing in a future for your children. Not all of these players will go on to be major leaguers. In fact, most will not! However, all of them will enter the real world. The lessons learned, friendships made, fun had, etc. will all go a long way in all of their lives.

I just want to say thank to all the Moms and Dads out there for spending their hard earned money on baseball. Baseball is the greatest game on earth and their is no way to put a price tag on what you pay for. I promise you that there is no limit to what you will get in return.

Keep up the great posts. They are awesome!!!

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And I just want to say thank you to the baseball guys out there (like Steve) who give our sons opportunities to play and be noticed. It may cost us money, but they provide a service to baseball families that would be so hard to do on our own. I'm sure not everyone feels that way, but it's been good for us. We do what we can, and probably even more than we can afford, but in the long run, whether he gets as far as he wants to or not, the memories will be priceless. I just hope that when it all comes to an end, I can find something for his father to do as a hobby...LOL...

Oh..and thank god for Priceline...they make hotels affordable for me. Now if only I could get the oil companies to lower gas back to .89 cents a gallon...

Does anyone else out there have a mechanic that nearly falls over dead when they see how many miles you have put on your vehicle since the last time you were in?

Baseball doesn't cost me anymore other than the occasional trip to go see my son play.

I would not trade the family vacations/baseball tournaments for anything.

We never looked at baseball as buying a scholarship. Just supporting our son while doing something that we all loved while seeing him compete against the very best. It has always been about the competition.

I would do it all again.

OhBaseball24,

I know the personal sacrafice that your family makes to allow Evan to play in Orange County. I promise you that it will be worth it. The 3 hour one way trip that you guys make to allow him to pitch is not something that many parents would do. However, you are allowing him to participate in events where he will be playing with and against some of the best players in the country. And what makes it worth it all is that he is starting to emerge as quite a prospect himself. Next year there will be hitters saying..."I faced Evan Fields this weekend. I went 0 for 4, BUT... I did hit one ball hard!" LOL....

As far as a hobby for Doug, I think that he will be busy for awhile following Evan pitch. He will be a good Division I pitcher. He might be close enough for you guys to be there in person or you may both be side-by-side at the computer watching the game on the internet (Gametracker). I even believe that he will have a shot at some point to play pro ball. That is a whole new hobby for Mom and Dad!!!

So here's to all the parents like you guys and best of luck to all of your kids that have the opportunities because of your sacrafices!!!!

rz1
A nice post. I see a lot of kids my son graduated with not doing so well after high school. Baseball has been a major factor in keeping things in perspective in college.

In our family it was a bit different. I would offer to pay for teams that wanted higher dollars than some , but it was my son who said " I'm not playing for that much". He just didn't want us to pay for the higher cost teams. He played on enough teams as it was. Now he is in his second year of college,playing baseball and it didn't affect him at all RE: which team he chose to play with. As for the $$ ,we spent probably the same as most , traveling, equipment,team cost... but it was worth it. The teams that actually got him to the next level cost very little to play for. Depending on your geographical location it doesn't make a bunch of difference.If you can play they will find you. Now our costs are allowance , travel expenses for some away games(like whupping up on Stanford last year in the regionals) and of late parking tickets ..that expense will stop!

Good luck to all this season

LCL,

Nice post, but, I would not want HS kids to read your line:

"if you can play they will find you"

If you are speaking of kids playing HS ball, that may give a false sense of security, that they do not have to market themselves.

I would bet for every one that can play, not many are found that do not actively market themselves in some way, unless of course the MLB/College field is just around the corner from the HS field.

Just my opinion.

CV

Perspective:

Got a call from a Dad yesterday--his son, between academics and baseball, was headed to a solid Division II program at the total impact to his pocket of $0.00----

That is why parents do what they do-- some do it smartly others don't--some are involved in the right situations and others are not

Each case stands on its own !!!!

CV

Sometimes the college coach right around the corner does not make the effort--you are right-- you need to proactive and you also need the right guys in your corner to help you

I do agree with TR in that each case stands on its own......and I also believe that a kid can market himself without paying much money at all.....

CV........I would not want a high school kid to think he has to have monetary resources in order to market himself. Kids with college ability will be found even if they only play on high school teams and 'non-select' teams.

$ for gloves, bats, cleats, helmet, etc: required

$$ for camps, travel and lodging: not required

0$ Watching your son hit a grand slam to win the game in front of 30 scouts: sweet

Grateful,

I did not mention anything about money.

I said that a HS player must actively market themselves.

1. write letters to coaches

2. email coaches

3. call coaches

4. send more letters

5. ask your coaches to write a letter on your behalf

6. ask your coach to send some emails on your behalf.

All of those have a very minimum cost.

I still say that if you play well in high school and sit on your butt and do not market yourself, then I doubt they will be lined up in your driveway to sign you. I never said you need a bunch of money to market yourself.

Bullwinkle,

Let us in on your secret, where do you find 30 scouts gathered watching a game and it did not cost anything to play?

Just curious ?

CV

CV

I thought that this topic would be a great time to bring up a point about cost of certain events.

As most of you know or can tell by my titles below, I work for Perfect Game. I was hired 4/1/04 and am a full time employee in California. Before getting hired w/ PG I ran my own tournaments, showcases, etc. Now I feel fortunate that I work for the best baseball company around.

Here is my point....

Last month we ran our WWBA Championships in Ft. Myers, FL. There were 80 teams with 1,500 + players. There were an estimated 650 scouts there (pro and college combined). Obviously this event is the biggest scouted amateur tournament in the country. The big questions is WHY SHOULD CALIFORNIA KIDS GO????

Living out here in CA I feel that we have the best baseball in the country. There are more D-I prospects at one of our Connie Mack games between both rosters then there are at most other Showcases outside of CA, FL, TX. At any given time there will be 8-10 college coaches and 5 or 6 pro scouts at a summer Connie Mack game. There is no question that if you play in CA, you will get that all important "exposure".
Again I ask, WHY WOULD/SHOULD CA KIDS GO ALL THE WAY TO FL TO PLAY?

I get asked this all the time. Before I got hired w/ PG I thought that they shouldn't or didn't need to. Now I see things differently having been out there and seeing the event first hand.

The answer to the questions is......California players do not NEED to go to FL for "exposure". You shouldn't make all of your decisions based on "How many college coaches will be there? How many pro scouts?" There are reasons that I feel should encourage them to WANT to go.

#1-You will have the opportunity to compete with and against the best players in the country. This will give you a chance to see where you fit in. It might make you think that "Wow, that _____ is really good." You may even realize that you yourself are as good or even better then some of the big name players out there.

#2-To have your team compete against the best teams throughout the country. If you win this tournament or even finish in the top 8 then you have accomplished something. Most of the time teams play several teams from their area over and over. Come and play against a team from California, Texas, Ohio, Canada, Puerto Rico, Florida, New York, etc all in the same week!

#3-If you are a player that has already commited to a college and are a draftable guy then traveling will show the MLB organizations that you are serious about baseball. If you are really good then the cross-checkers, scouting directots, and GM's will come to see you in your area. If you travel when you don't have or need to, then that says something. It means tha you want to play.

#4-Simply to have fun. There is a lot of outside elements that go along with making the trip, but when the umpire says "Play Ball" that all goes away. Watching the kids play the game is awesome. Please don't ever take the "fun" factor out of the game.

There are some other resons, but I think you get the point. When it comes to spending money for baseball related things it's not always about exposure or geting something that you have to have. Sure, events like he WWBA Championship are expensive and not everyone can afford to go. You have to do what you and your family can afford. When you make he decisions on what to do don't just make them on what you will get for your money. Remember that baseball is a game and is meant to have players compete and have fun while doing it. IMHO, money spent for baseball is money well spent.

CV.....

Thanks, that's great......now the kids know the definition of marketing themselves, and they can see that it indeed doesn't have to cost much at all.

That is something they need to know. The players who read these forums could easily get the impression that attending showcases are a necessity, and your list shows them that that is not everyone's opinion.

Grateful,

I will add this and say that if they really want to go to a certain school they should try to attend a camp at that school so the coach has an opportunity to see them in person.

I tend to believe that most coaches will not go on hearsay and to get to a particular school that coach will need to see them play at some point before they offer a spot.

For most players that means they MAY have to spend some money on a showcase or camp where a particular coach will be in attendance.

There of course is an exception to every rule.

They should start with the letters, emails, and calls first to test the waters.

cv