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Have you bought a baseball glove for your Little Leaguer lately? Did you pay more than $100 for it?
How about a $250 bat?
A New York Times story headlined "Big Price Tags Attached to Even the Littlest Leagues," looks at the big business of equipping youngsters for participation in youth baseball and softball leagues, quoting those costs and more.
"A batting helmet protects tiny heads for $39.99," the Times reports. "A pair of Nike Jordan Black Cat cleats will make your child fast and fashionable at $51.99 until he or she outgrows them."
So what do you think? Has the cost of bats and gloves taken our kids too far from the simpler days of sandlot and playground ballgames? Or have you had better luck finding more modestly-priced equipment for them?
Let us know in the comments section.
Casey Meserve
12:32 pm on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
That's nothing. You should try paying for hockey equipment. It's like a second mortgage.
Mack
2:27 pm on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
I agree with Casey, and my kids don't even play hockey. Baseball is still a bargain. Any parent who buys a $250 bat for his little leaguer deserves to be parted from his money.
David Ertischek
3:11 pm on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
I agree. In West Roxbury, hockey parents are the ones paying the most for their kids' sports. Although baseball gloves, spikes, bats and more certainly mount up to a costly tab.
Peter
5:19 pm on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Having a kid play hockey, soccer, baseball...hockey by far is the most expensive sport of the 3...the cost of the ice time, not to mention the equipment. And as they get older, the cost of skates increases dramatically. And if you think that's expensive, try gymnastics. There's the monthly fees, the cost of a new uniform and warm ups each year, paying to attend each meet, and for girls, the cost of someone to choreograph their floor routine. By far the most expensive sport.
Casey Meserve
9:30 pm on Tuesday, April 24, 2012
No...I think that's dressage. Buying the horse, keeping the horse, training the horse, training the rider, show fees, trailer, outfits, etc. etc. etc. A horse is a hole in a stall into which one throws money. I know this because I used to ride.
yo dude
9:21 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
ski team....can anyone say "home equitey loan"...???
Ken Esq
7:48 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
There's plenty of quality equipment available second-hand or on eBay. if you want to give your kid the same stuff the pros use...you're going to pay ridiculous prices. To play baseball at anything but HS and above we're talking a pair of sneakers, bat, cap and glove. Gloves and bats last for years. Every league is going to have some helmets.
Hockey is always expensive, but aside from goalies it's not horrendous if you shop.
Just because your 11 year old wants the very best doesn't mean you have to buy it.