Moneyball: Segregation in Youth Baseball
- Jacob Stewart
- Jan 5, 2018
- 5 min read
Many of you may be familiar with this baseball movie depicting the Oakland Athletics’ 2002 season in which they had won 103 games despite having a low budget and lack of star players. The mastermind behind this success, Billy Beane, was portrayed by Brad Pitt.
Yeah, this article has nothing to do with that season, or Brad Pitt for that matter, but rather how the financial obligations that come with playing baseball is in some part ‘segregating’ the sport.
This type of jargon may appear to be a headline grab, so let me elaborate.
Summer Ball
Every young ball player with an intention of playing at the next level (Collegiate or professional) will likely spend at least Eight or so years of summer baseball. Before a player even steps foot on the diamond, they will have to pay anywhere from $800-$2,000+ per summer to cover costs of tournaments and the paying of umpires. This of course is not taking into account the meals and travel arrangements that takes place during these out of town tournaments. As the youth sports industry continues to grow, the tournaments get larger and quite frankly more expensive year to year.
Other sports, it is not necessary for Division I caliber basketball players to play AAU, or for High school football players to play some other form of competition to get collegiate offers/looks. While these sports still have camps and showcases, the routine expenses that come from summer ball can be quite taxing.
Showcase Events
To talk about showcases in the nicest way possible, I would suggest that they are a complete waste of a paycheck, an utter scam, and a flawed way to evaluate a kid’s talent. However, this is another one of those times where you have to bite the bullet and pay the piper. The kids will receive several showcase envelopes in the mail starting a young age for showcases anywhere from $65-$300+. An expense that can be expected annually at least a few times a year. As this industry is growing, recruiters may be able to watch your kid play from their smartphones. The fact of the matter is if kids want to be seen by recruiters, they’ll have to keep going to these showcases to maybe quite possibly be contacted by a college coach.
College
(Let it be known that before I make this point that good ball players can be drafted out of any division at the collegiate level more than any other sport)
It is rare, even for top recruits to receive full-ride Division one scholarships. This is because in the NCAA, baseball is only allowed 11.7 scholarships (can be broken down amongst players) per team. Each division one team is allowed to carry 35 student athletes, 27 of them are allowed to be on scholarship. This is far less than basketball, who is awarded 13 scholarships, and Football who is awarded 85.
Baseball full ride scholarships are as rare as rocking horse droppings, whereas most of the top collegiate athletes in football and in basketball have full rides. Many of those student athletes would not have the opportunity to play at the next level, or get an education without that full ride. As college continues to grow in expense, and seems to many as a farfetched reality, lower income families will have a tougher time paying that expense, including ballplayers who want to play at the collegiate level.
Those were three key elements that I found most important to the argument, not even addressing the cost for bats, helmets, cleats, and gloves that can easily amount to hundreds upon hundreds of dollars. This is also not considering the pitching/hitting/fielding lessons that kids attend year round. Also, not considering the element of multiple children pursuing these same activities.
From 1889-1947 baseball certainly had extraordinary players, from Cy Young, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, that one guy who ate all those hot dogs and hit all those home runs in New York, and many others. But those were the years in which people of color were not given the right to play baseball in the same league. Since baseball has been desegregated we are able to see baseball talent from all sorts of cultural backgrounds and races.
We see the efforts of the MLB in their pursuits to globalize the game, because they recognize the value of diversity, and that with more global competition, the product will improve. Living in an American society that is driven by consumerism, and constant product evolution, youth sports (particularly baseball) has become a mega-business rather than a learning device for children. Student athletes are becoming more specialized in their sports. By that I mean, you see far fewer student athletes playing multiple sports throughout the school year. Whether or not that is a better tactic for the kids athletic development is a separate article itself. But it is a trend, an expensive trend rather. A trend that has parents paying for ‘Fall Ball’, ‘all american camps’, showcases, winter classics, etc.
The days of backyard and sandlot baseball are long gone, and the journey to the bigs comes with a fat check. The reason basketball, football, and soccer have been able to continue to evolve their brand is that the emphasis on the future of the game has been the players, and making the game accessible to everyone. These sports allow athletes to showcase their abilities with limited financial responsibilities (shoes, participation fee). Baseball has transformed into a game of money, where going to enough showcases can land you a scholarship. This all needs to change. Starting by taking the power/credibility away from the recruiting agencies, and the powers at be looking to aggrandize their personal wealth.
Baseball in later years has become more and more expensive, and if actions are not taken to allow kids to compete, develop, and have fun en route to furthering their baseballs careers at an AFFORDABLE level, then baseball may become a sport and an industry dominated and controlled by wealthy.
Baseball is the most fair game in the world. Nine starting men per team with individual roles, demonstrating utmost accountability. It is the one sport where you are not inhibited by your size, speed, or strength, but rather your willingness to compete and play for one another.
I challenge coaches to look deeper into recruiting rather than watching a few swings from their iPhone. I challenge communities to make athletic participation for baseball more feasible. I challenge athletic departments to provide adequate equipment for baseball players to welcome more aspiring athletes. And I challenge Major League Baseball to continue to make strides towards expanding the game, to all financial backgrounds.
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