is UA/BBF worthwhile?

Plenty of past discussion on here regarding Baseball Factory. And the general consensus is it is not worth it.

I do see they have changed their pricing. It used to be $99 for a tryout and $499 for a tryout that included video and an evaluation.

You are better off doing a PBR showcase if you want experience as they tend to be inexpensive and PG if you think you have something to show. Both PG and PBR include PUBLISHED and SEARCHABLE metrics; you won't get that with BBF. Video on PBR used to be available for viewing by everyone but now requires a subscription. On PG it is available to everyone for free. PG showcases include real games (some of the indoor showcases have "modified" or simulated games and as such, I would not recommend unless you are going just to post new metrics).

The other thing I hate about BBF is they record "arm velocity" for position players--which is simply throwing into a net. Think run and gun. This is not a valid metric in my opinion and enough of a reason to discount those numbers. Big difference for an OF to make throws to third and home and still show good velocity without embarrassing himself as opposed to throwing into a net. The same can be said for indoor events. Maybe OK for IF but not OF metrics.

But like anything, BF is jus another tool and if you have the time and $$ then go for it. All showcase provide showcase experience.

For anyone in the Bay Area, I very highly recommend attending the NorCal World Series. It was created to showcase NorCal affiliated players, but I believe that any area HS coach can get one or two invites for his top guys. Nearly every D1, D2, and D3 program on the left coast was there when we attended. As it turned out, it was the only event my 2017 needed to attend.

BTW I can't remember if it was free or cost a couple hundred dollars. In either case, very cost effective!

Baseball factory has been around for a while, even longer than Perfect Game by a year.  Though it was a while ago, son went to a few events and one camp (in warm weather)! BF was good to go to early on as you could get a series of 3rd party measurables for a mere $99. As ABSORBER said that price has gone up ($129 when I looked). One plus is that they go to so many locations, numerous states, so that there is usually a "tryout" within driving distance for everyone. 

The events RipkenFanSon went to were really early in his recruiting process, so for many he was still a "camper,." The Pre-Season all American event had some really talented players and was son's first interaction with a MLB scout. The camps were $$. But BF allowed son to go to subsequent tryouts to "update" his #s for no charge. At one event, they added a HTF time which we requested, and at the time was not part of their standard #s (for that matter "launch angle wasn't talked about either). Having a HTF time coupled with 60 times from several places, helped in son's recruitment for college based on his skills set.  His initial BF HTF time was equivalent to a time taken at an American Legion showcase months later.

So to answer the OP question, it depends. As is the case with many baseball companies, you need to determine what your objective is. Is the goal to get measurables, instruction, interaction with college coaches? Very often, those concepts are at different events offered.  JMO

I hope I didn't disparage BFF too much. My son attended two BBF events intended for younger players. Like @Ripken Fans son, he attended them very early (7th grade, 8th grade) as a way to gain exposure to showcase-style events. We did them because they weren't too expensive and most importantly, were held at the high school down the street. While understandably  way too early for recruiting benefit, they did give my son a lot of experience and more importantly, confidence. As a result of these events he was invited to several camps which were, for the most part, very expensive. Like REALLY expensive. Naturally we did not attend. In subsequent years he was invited to some Preseason All-American events but by then we knew where he was recruiting-wise and didn't think they would add benefit. 

So they were a big part of my son's early journey and I wouldn't change it, but that's because we didn't have unrealistic expectations.

The reason PBR and PG are much better in HS is simply because you can attend a showcase, have your metrics recorded, post video, and have a wealth of data available to use as comparison in order to understand where you stand amongst your peers. While you can see your profile on BBF, you cannot parse data like you can with PBR and PG.

thanks for the feedback. 2 for one deal seems to make it priced more attractively but, if they aren't worth much overall anyway and he would just be going to the first one for the experience, then the overall cost might not be worthwhile.

I know pbr holds events in our area (or somewhat in our area).  i'll look for those.

"The reason PBR and PG are much better in HS is simply because you can attend a showcase, have your metrics recorded, post video, and have a wealth of data available to use as comparison in order to understand where you stand amongst your peers. While you can see your profile on BBF, you cannot parse data like you can with PBR and PG."

I'd argue that Baseball Factory actually provides more data (Grip strength, standing broad jump, 5-10-5 shuttle) along with the same things everyone else has (raw velocity, exit velocity, 60 yard dash, Diamond Kinetics swing analysis, etc).  The Baseball Factory video's are also very good.

I'd actually recommend the Baseball Factory Silver Package if you can get a Buy 1 Get 1 or they sometimes have promo deals for as much as 40% off.

@mburtner17 posted:

"The reason PBR and PG are much better in HS is simply because you can attend a showcase, have your metrics recorded, post video, and have a wealth of data available to use as comparison in order to understand where you stand amongst your peers. While you can see your profile on BBF, you cannot parse data like you can with PBR and PG."

I'd argue that Baseball Factory actually provides more data (Grip strength, standing broad jump, 5-10-5 shuttle) along with the same things everyone else has (raw velocity, exit velocity, 60 yard dash, Diamond Kinetics swing analysis, etc).  The Baseball Factory video's are also very good.

I'd actually recommend the Baseball Factory Silver Package if you can get a Buy 1 Get 1 or they sometimes have promo deals for as much as 40% off.

Baseball Factory may gather a few extra metrics for you but the only way anyone will ever see those metrics is if you send them a link to your profile. You can't just browse the profiles of others. So you have no idea how your metrics compare to those of your peers, Or players ahead of you or behind you in the recruiting cycle. Or players from 15 years ago now playing in the MLB.

If you just need the metrics gathered by an unbiased third party and a published profile you can send college coaches then BF certainly will do the job.

And again, what you call "raw" velocity is nothing more than a run and gun. If BF started collecting actual position velocity (OF throws from RF to 3rd and home, IF throws from SS to 1st, CIF throws from 1st to 2nd and 3rd, and C throws down to 2nd while also collection pop time), then I would say their metrics are equal to or better than PG or PBR. Except they don't and again, nobody will see your metrics unless you send them a link.

If they start publishing the results of every showcase and provide a way for users to query these results and view players' basic profiles for free, then maybe they will have something that gets closer to PG's product. As I stated earlier, PBR player profile video used to be available for free, but now requires a subscription. And while PG grades and rankings require a subscription, their showcase results and individual player metrics and video are all FREE for anyone to search, sort and view.

So I don't want to appear that I'm bashing BF. I'm simply providing comparison so players and parents can decide for themselves where best to post their metrics. My son has done all three (PG, PBR, and BF) and since I paid $$$ to all of them I feel qualified to give my fair assessment and opinion.

"Perfect game in Georgia,Fort Myers and Jupiter is where he got interest as well as being on a highly competitive travel team"

This !!!

I share the PBR by state review. (TX is a pass). PBR NY and PA are very well run.

PG and their events were run better and had more following and impact on my son's recruiting. His biggest events were both WWBAs this past fall, by far.

You can make your own videos, borrow or rent a real radar gun and post for free on YouTube and Twitter to include in your baseball profile you share with coaches and programs.

Way more cost effective. 

I'm not arguing any other point, just that they do actually provide more data.  Agree with pretty much everything else that's been said.

Similar to RipkenFan, I have a son that has some BF experience, although more recent.  My son is a summer born 2024, so he was still playing 12u last year when he attended the local BF eval event (we skipped the videos).  The local eval resulted in an invitation to train and play at Pirate City for a week last July - my boy had just turned 13 yrs old weeks prior to making the trip to Pirate City where he was training with and competing against some very good nationally selected 14-15 yr olds while sharing the complex with the Pirates MiLB short season 2019 rookie draft squad.  It was an excellent developmental experience for my son and the guys running BF (at least the ones that I have met) are all top notch guys that I am happy to have exposed my son to.  If COVID-19 allows,  my son will be going to the 2020 AZ Freshman Fall Classic in October on the BF roster - again as a developmental experience.  Not many opportunities for an east coast kid to get to the AZ Fall Classic.   BF (in its own way), similar to my son's experience with USA NTIS, redefines expectations for my son ... far above and beyond the local and day-trip regional stuff that we spend most of our time with.

As the daddy sponsor ... I can tell you that BF is very much a higher cost camp-like option if you participate beyond the eval events, however it is a good fit for my son's development.   Looking ahead to next summer and beyond, I will need to reevaluate my budget priorities (both my $$$ and my PTO) and determine when and how best to shift from investing in pure development to investing into my son's exposure and recruiting for college. 

Best to everyone in the BF/PG/PBR debate ... may you and your family stay healthy and get back to full employment as soon as possible.