Are All-Star baseball parents everywhere insane?

[Pat Whatley]

This is unbelievable. I do batting helmet decals for a local sporting goods store. This year the store has decided to not be the middle man and they're sending the parents directly to me for the decals.

These people are insane! The money they spend so their precious little All-Stars can look like the pros is unbelievable.

This is the stuff they're buying each one of these kids:
Game uniform - pants, shirt, hat, socks, belt with name and number on each piece
Practice jersey with name and number
Wristbands - embroidered with league all-star logo and player number
Batting helmets (have to be new so they'll all match) with logo on front and name on back
Bat bag - embroidered with all-star logo and player name

Add into that the team banner they put in the dugout, the bleacher banner they put on their side of the bleachers, the custom baseball cards they have made for each kid and lord only knows what else and I'm seeing $250 or better. Apparently a lot of the teams get jerseys or t-shirts made for the parents on top of that.

From talking to the last mother who was in here (who said they were spending a ridiculous amount of money and just shrugged her shoulders) apparently All-Stars is nothing. The kids who get on travel baseball teams have to have two game uniforms....plus travel expenses since they go to tournaments all over the southeast every weekend for games.

I think I need to get out of the sign business and into the baseball uniform business.

 

[d fleming]

Are All-Star baseball parents everywhere insane?

yes

 

[houseofgrafix]

It really sucks. It limits baseball to a middle-upper class game instead of a game which everyone should have a chance.

IMO that's why the USA sucks at soccer. Soccer everywhere else is open to rich/poor ect.
Here in the USA past about U9/U10 it becomes a very $$$ sport to be in.

 

[synergy_jim]

Baseball / Softball parents in general are insane....

 

[SignaramaFL]

yes... the amount of money that is spent is... ridiculous. I have to admit I was on a traveling fast pitch softball team growing up, and cheerleading before that. And I know that softball, I had I think at least 4 jerseys, socks, shirts, visors, batbag, helmet(s), not to mention all the other equipment I needed... But I don't think my mom and dad were one of those crazy parents... but I guess they could of been lol!!!

- But yes we have a few baseball teams that come to use for decals, and its unbelievable how much they spend on them....

 

[David Wright]

Heck, I had a lady come in here asking for donations not for her kid's team but for him. Canvassing all the businesses to outfit the brat.

At least they pony up even if it is stupid.

 

[cajun312]

Last year I was doing a job for a All Star team made up of 15/16 year old kids. The SCCA car club I'm in was thinking of doing a Tire Rack Street Survival drivers school. The kids are taught how to react in emergency situations. Once they have learned to drive through a basic slalom, they are then told to do it while texting. None make it through while texting.
The cost of the school is $85. I had four of the parents in here when I mentioned the school. All of them said whoooaaa that's expensive, I can't afford that. But no problems spending way more than that on baseball.

And you wonder why car accidents kill so many kids. I wonder if they put the batting helmet decal on the coffin.

 

[petesign]

Pat, it gets better - sell them decals for their rear windows, yard signs that say "Proud Parent of #9 so and so" license plates, etc. It's a freaking gold mine. If you can get in good with park and rec leagues, church leagues, etc... it gets even crazier. Big coroplast printed heads of pastors, fatheads, etc.

 

[TyrantDesigner]

Are All-Star baseball parents everywhere insane?

yes. few years back I ended up making an obscene amount of round coroplast baseballs with the kids info on them so the parents could put them in the front yard/wherever. Crazy part ... most parents had multiple kids in baseball ... over 100 of those things in all. man ... the team that won the championship was even crazier parents .... i had to get inch thick cintra cnc'd out in a baseball with the winning teams "logo" and year they won about 30 times at 2'x2'

 

[Pat Whatley]

I'm sure it's a gold mine but I don't think I want to deal with that many team moms who have nothing to do other than ride around and complain that if you look at them in bright light the color orange I used on the batting helmet is a shade deeper than the color orange on the wristbands and she's just not sure if that's going to be acceptable or not, she's taking them all to the coach...who is at work right now....so he can make the final decision.

 

[TyrantDesigner]

Oh, I set the ball running with the baseball moms ahead of time... told them that just to do one or two signs at a time would be 50-80% higher priced due to the work required ... only one mom came in at a time getting 6-12 signs for all the teams parents that wanted on. made it much easier and they never quibbled about the price. (one that you could tell was a trophy wife ... with the inflatables to go with it ... was a hugger ... made for an interesting couple of days, all the shop help was willing to take that extra step for her)

 

[OldPaint]

i do the hang up signs for baseball & football for a field right across from my house. and you would not belive what these people want to put a sign that is going to be hung on the OUTFIELD FENCE.....150-200 YARDS from the bleachers)))))))