Is Baseball Factory legit or just a money grab?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've known the owner for 25 years. He loves baseball and cares about the kids. If your kid is serious about baseball, he can help get visability and recruiting looks.

Much of baseball these days are money grabs. That is why there are so many adults running teams now. The travel clubs get money from the parents, pay the tournament hosts registration fees, and the tournament hosts pay college coaches to show up. These combine things are the worst.

Yes, youth baseball has become a business. I’m not sure it is one that is terribly lucrative - maybe one or two owners of these big places make a six figure income, but the coaches, trainers, tournament directors, etc are making blue collar wages. Would the world be nicer if baseball was still the sandlot? Yeah, maybe. But it’s not. And as a mom of a baseball-mad teenager who can only envision a career in baseball and refuses to consider anything else, I wish there was a middle-class income open to him. There really isn’t. Which brings me back to baseball being a money grab. If it is, who is grabbing all that money? When you do the math you realize how little each coach is making. You wouldn’t work for that wage.

Youth baseball is a money grab, and with two boys having gone through the recruiting process, it is getting worse. But it can be navigated. We never did the $1500 Showball type showcases (not sure how much Baseball Factory is), but we picked a couple other less expensive ones, went on school visits and did some one on ones with coaches. It became pretty clear, if you are good, you can get school’s attention without shelling out $$$$.

My experience is "good"...means like top 1% of all baseball players. My kid plays on a team with one of those...they get invited to play in the national PG all star game that is televised on ESPN, invited to MLB exclusive invite-only showcases, etc. They don't have to pay anything because they are wanted by everyone.

Alternatively, I also agree with you if you are just targeting D3 schools (though maybe not the schools making it far in the D3 national tournament)...especially the Northeast high academic D3s (assuming you have the grades/test scores). You can directly reach out to those coaches and if you have decent stats for a D3 player, they will respond.

DP and a genuine question:

How does this top 1% kid get all this attention in the first place? Who is looking at him and then inviting him to all of these games and showcases?

To me it sounds like a chicken or egg question. At some point, a kid had to be in a position to get noticed. How does that generally happen? Is it just luck?

[Anonymous]

They typically play on well regarded showcase teams that play in the large perfect game or PBR events

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They typically play on well regarded showcase teams that play in the large perfect game or PBR events

Do the well regarded showcase teams not cost a lot of money? How does a normal person even know which teams to try out for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've known the owner for 25 years. He loves baseball and cares about the kids. If your kid is serious about baseball, he can help get visability and recruiting looks.

Much of baseball these days are money grabs. That is why there are so many adults running teams now. The travel clubs get money from the parents, pay the tournament hosts registration fees, and the tournament hosts pay college coaches to show up. These combine things are the worst.

Yes, youth baseball has become a business. I’m not sure it is one that is terribly lucrative - maybe one or two owners of these big places make a six figure income, but the coaches, trainers, tournament directors, etc are making blue collar wages. Would the world be nicer if baseball was still the sandlot? Yeah, maybe. But it’s not. And as a mom of a baseball-mad teenager who can only envision a career in baseball and refuses to consider anything else, I wish there was a middle-class income open to him. There really isn’t. Which brings me back to baseball being a money grab. If it is, who is grabbing all that money? When you do the math you realize how little each coach is making. You wouldn’t work for that wage.

Youth baseball is a money grab, and with two boys having gone through the recruiting process, it is getting worse. But it can be navigated. We never did the $1500 Showball type showcases (not sure how much Baseball Factory is), but we picked a couple other less expensive ones, went on school visits and did some one on ones with coaches. It became pretty clear, if you are good, you can get school’s attention without shelling out $$$$.

My experience is "good"...means like top 1% of all baseball players. My kid plays on a team with one of those...they get invited to play in the national PG all star game that is televised on ESPN, invited to MLB exclusive invite-only showcases, etc. They don't have to pay anything because they are wanted by everyone.

Alternatively, I also agree with you if you are just targeting D3 schools (though maybe not the schools making it far in the D3 national tournament)...especially the Northeast high academic D3s (assuming you have the grades/test scores). You can directly reach out to those coaches and if you have decent stats for a D3 player, they will respond.

DP and a genuine question:

How does this top 1% kid get all this attention in the first place? Who is looking at him and then inviting him to all of these games and showcases?

To me it sounds like a chicken or egg question. At some point, a kid had to be in a position to get noticed. How does that generally happen? Is it just luck?

They play on a national team. Around the DMV, a team like Richmond Braves Platinum, Mid-Atlantic Red Sox...they only reason I say "around here" is because usually you do have to go tryout in person...though sometimes they see you play at a travel tournament and poach you. Even those teams will tend to be mostly VA or MD, though you will see some kids on those teams from NY or NC. A team like the East Cobb Astros which is the #1 ranked 17u team, has kids from all over the place (GA, FL, TX, etc.)

At 16u, they play in premier tournaments in Alabama and Georgia which has Power 5 D1 coaches and pro scouts attending. They do really well at those tournaments, and start getting a ton of attention. As 17u players (that Fall after 16u summer season), they start getting personal invites to random showcase events that are super-exclusive.

There is an MLB showcase event happening next week...I think in Cary NC which is the HQ of USA Baseball. I only know because this kid is attending (and I understand now one or two others received invites).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They typically play on well regarded showcase teams that play in the large perfect game or PBR events

Do the well regarded showcase teams not cost a lot of money? How does a normal person even know which teams to try out for?

Go the the Perfect Game website and look at the team rankings by age group. The top 20-30 teams are legitimately incredible teams...after that, the rankings get a little wonky and subjective (but they are still loaded with D1 commits).

It all depends how good you are whether it costs a lot of money or not. As an example, Bryce Harper paid $0 to play for these teams in HS because they all wanted him to play for their team in these national tournaments.

So, for the 50-100 top HS players in the country it is reasonable...but everyone else is paying. Everyone else pays up to play on these teams because they are hoping the reputation of the team and the exposure of their super-star teammates will rub off on them with a Power 5 D1 commitment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They typically play on well regarded showcase teams that play in the large perfect game or PBR events

Do the well regarded showcase teams not cost a lot of money? How does a normal person even know which teams to try out for?

Go the the Perfect Game website and look at the team rankings by age group. The top 20-30 teams are legitimately incredible teams...after that, the rankings get a little wonky and subjective (but they are still loaded with D1 commits).

It all depends how good you are whether it costs a lot of money or not. As an example, Bryce Harper paid $0 to play for these teams in HS because they all wanted him to play for their team in these national tournaments.

So, for the 50-100 top HS players in the country it is reasonable...but everyone else is paying. Everyone else pays up to play on these teams because they are hoping the reputation of the team and the exposure of their super-star teammates will rub off on them with a Power 5 D1 commitment.

Thanks to you and PP for the in depth answers. We’re no longer in the area (in a NE non-ideal baseball climate unfortunately) but have a soon-to-be freshman who is pretty serious and has always been a good player. Not sure how talented he actually is or if he’s merely always been the big fish in a small pond, but on the off chance he’s got any sort of future in this just trying to figure out reasonable next steps to take (if any).

[Anonymous]

A lot depends on his measurables & projections. Velocity, exit velo, 60 time, size etc. Going to showcases are pointless if there isn’t anything to showcase l.

[Anonymous]

The large national organizations often have regional teams and regional tryouts. It might be with going to one to see where he stacks up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They typically play on well regarded showcase teams that play in the large perfect game or PBR events

Do the well regarded showcase teams not cost a lot of money? How does a normal person even know which teams to try out for?

Go the the Perfect Game website and look at the team rankings by age group. The top 20-30 teams are legitimately incredible teams...after that, the rankings get a little wonky and subjective (but they are still loaded with D1 commits).

It all depends how good you are whether it costs a lot of money or not. As an example, Bryce Harper paid $0 to play for these teams in HS because they all wanted him to play for their team in these national tournaments.

So, for the 50-100 top HS players in the country it is reasonable...but everyone else is paying. Everyone else pays up to play on these teams because they are hoping the reputation of the team and the exposure of their super-star teammates will rub off on them with a Power 5 D1 commitment.

Thanks to you and PP for the in depth answers. We’re no longer in the area (in a NE non-ideal baseball climate unfortunately) but have a soon-to-be freshman who is pretty serious and has always been a good player. Not sure how talented he actually is or if he’s merely always been the big fish in a small pond, but on the off chance he’s got any sort of future in this just trying to figure out reasonable next steps to take (if any).

FYI...if you are trying to get your kid recruited, then you need to pay attention to teams that get kids recruited.

Again, not talking about these Top national teams where the kids are all incredible and every college coach is watching...but call it the teams ranked #50 and below.

It's not enough for a team to be good, the coaches also have to work the phones and have to care about getting their players seen by coaches, even if it means they lose the game. In other words, if the Ivy league coaches can only come to a game against some super team...your coach still plays kids that are Ivy league material, but not Power 5 material.

Your team may lose...they might get blown out...doesn't matter. The Ivy coaches will know that a kid throwing 90 is going to get hammered by a kid that may be a 1st round MLB pick (and is 5x better than any kid playing on their existing roster)...that's life. However, there is no point in an Ivy league coach coming to watch your LSU commit in a pitching duel with a UNC commit...neither of those kids are playing at Harvard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They typically play on well regarded showcase teams that play in the large perfect game or PBR events

Do the well regarded showcase teams not cost a lot of money? How does a normal person even know which teams to try out for?

Go the the Perfect Game website and look at the team rankings by age group. The top 20-30 teams are legitimately incredible teams...after that, the rankings get a little wonky and subjective (but they are still loaded with D1 commits).

It all depends how good you are whether it costs a lot of money or not. As an example, Bryce Harper paid $0 to play for these teams in HS because they all wanted him to play for their team in these national tournaments.

So, for the 50-100 top HS players in the country it is reasonable...but everyone else is paying. Everyone else pays up to play on these teams because they are hoping the reputation of the team and the exposure of their super-star teammates will rub off on them with a Power 5 D1 commitment.

Thanks to you and PP for the in depth answers. We’re no longer in the area (in a NE non-ideal baseball climate unfortunately) but have a soon-to-be freshman who is pretty serious and has always been a good player. Not sure how talented he actually is or if he’s merely always been the big fish in a small pond, but on the off chance he’s got any sort of future in this just trying to figure out reasonable next steps to take (if any).

FYI...if you are trying to get your kid recruited, then you need to pay attention to teams that get kids recruited.

Again, not talking about these Top national teams where the kids are all incredible and every college coach is watching...but call it the teams ranked #50 and below.

It's not enough for a team to be good, the coaches also have to work the phones and have to care about getting their players seen by coaches, even if it means they lose the game. In other words, if the Ivy league coaches can only come to a game against some super team...your coach still plays kids that are Ivy league material, but not Power 5 material.

Your team may lose...they might get blown out...doesn't matter. The Ivy coaches will know that a kid throwing 90 is going to get hammered by a kid that may be a 1st round MLB pick (and is 5x better than any kid playing on their existing roster)...that's life. However, there is no point in an Ivy league coach coming to watch your LSU commit in a pitching duel with a UNC commit...neither of those kids are playing at Harvard.

And this is where Baseball Factory comes in. Because most of our kids (including PP above with the 8th grader) aren’t in the top 100 players, aren’t going to make one of the national showcase teams, and aren’t going to play D1 ball. My kid is really good. He’s still just on the bubble between D1 and D3, and because he wants to play and not ride the bench he’ll go D3. How do you get on the radar of a coach? How do you get your email read when there are hundreds of emails in the coach’s inbox, and there are hundreds of kids at each showcase. A recruitment service can help, and it your kid cares enough and you can afford it, it could be worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They typically play on well regarded showcase teams that play in the large perfect game or PBR events

Do the well regarded showcase teams not cost a lot of money? How does a normal person even know which teams to try out for?

Go the the Perfect Game website and look at the team rankings by age group. The top 20-30 teams are legitimately incredible teams...after that, the rankings get a little wonky and subjective (but they are still loaded with D1 commits).

It all depends how good you are whether it costs a lot of money or not. As an example, Bryce Harper paid $0 to play for these teams in HS because they all wanted him to play for their team in these national tournaments.

So, for the 50-100 top HS players in the country it is reasonable...but everyone else is paying. Everyone else pays up to play on these teams because they are hoping the reputation of the team and the exposure of their super-star teammates will rub off on them with a Power 5 D1 commitment.

Thanks to you and PP for the in depth answers. We’re no longer in the area (in a NE non-ideal baseball climate unfortunately) but have a soon-to-be freshman who is pretty serious and has always been a good player. Not sure how talented he actually is or if he’s merely always been the big fish in a small pond, but on the off chance he’s got any sort of future in this just trying to figure out reasonable next steps to take (if any).

FYI...if you are trying to get your kid recruited, then you need to pay attention to teams that get kids recruited.

Again, not talking about these Top national teams where the kids are all incredible and every college coach is watching...but call it the teams ranked #50 and below.

It's not enough for a team to be good, the coaches also have to work the phones and have to care about getting their players seen by coaches, even if it means they lose the game. In other words, if the Ivy league coaches can only come to a game against some super team...your coach still plays kids that are Ivy league material, but not Power 5 material.

Your team may lose...they might get blown out...doesn't matter. The Ivy coaches will know that a kid throwing 90 is going to get hammered by a kid that may be a 1st round MLB pick (and is 5x better than any kid playing on their existing roster)...that's life. However, there is no point in an Ivy league coach coming to watch your LSU commit in a pitching duel with a UNC commit...neither of those kids are playing at Harvard.

And this is where Baseball Factory comes in. Because most of our kids (including PP above with the 8th grader) aren’t in the top 100 players, aren’t going to make one of the national showcase teams, and aren’t going to play D1 ball. My kid is really good. He’s still just on the bubble between D1 and D3, and because he wants to play and not ride the bench he’ll go D3. How do you get on the radar of a coach? How do you get your email read when there are hundreds of emails in the coach’s inbox, and there are hundreds of kids at each showcase. A recruitment service can help, and it your kid cares enough and you can afford it, it could be worth it.

I don't know much about Baseball Factory's product offerings. I know their showcase events are expensive and I thought were geared more towards D1 kids.

You should look into Headfirst, Showball and those camps. Also, a decent travel team (e.g., in the DMV a team like Bradley) should have D3 connections. They may be more Gettysburg or local DMV D3 schools vs. Williams.

Go look at the schools attending Headfirst and Showball...they complement each other. It's kind of a racquet where each group pays off the coaches to attend their camp exclusively. So, one will have 4 of the Ivy schools and the other has other 4 Ivy schools. One has Williams, Pomona etc. and the other has Trinity, Haverford, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've known the owner for 25 years. He loves baseball and cares about the kids. If your kid is serious about baseball, he can help get visability and recruiting looks.

Much of baseball these days are money grabs. That is why there are so many adults running teams now. The travel clubs get money from the parents, pay the tournament hosts registration fees, and the tournament hosts pay college coaches to show up. These combine things are the worst.

Yes, youth baseball has become a business. I’m not sure it is one that is terribly lucrative - maybe one or two owners of these big places make a six figure income, but the coaches, trainers, tournament directors, etc are making blue collar wages. Would the world be nicer if baseball was still the sandlot? Yeah, maybe. But it’s not. And as a mom of a baseball-mad teenager who can only envision a career in baseball and refuses to consider anything else, I wish there was a middle-class income open to him. There really isn’t. Which brings me back to baseball being a money grab. If it is, who is grabbing all that money? When you do the math you realize how little each coach is making. You wouldn’t work for that wage.

Youth baseball is a money grab, and with two boys having gone through the recruiting process, it is getting worse. But it can be navigated. We never did the $1500 Showball type showcases (not sure how much Baseball Factory is), but we picked a couple other less expensive ones, went on school visits and did some one on ones with coaches. It became pretty clear, if you are good, you can get school’s attention without shelling out $$$$.

My experience is "good"...means like top 1% of all baseball players. My kid plays on a team with one of those...they get invited to play in the national PG all star game that is televised on ESPN, invited to MLB exclusive invite-only showcases, etc. They don't have to pay anything because they are wanted by everyone.

Alternatively, I also agree with you if you are just targeting D3 schools (though maybe not the schools making it far in the D3 national tournament)...especially the Northeast high academic D3s (assuming you have the grades/test scores). You can directly reach out to those coaches and if you have decent stats for a D3 player, they will respond.

DP and a genuine question:

How does this top 1% kid get all this attention in the first place? Who is looking at him and then inviting him to all of these games and showcases?

To me it sounds like a chicken or egg question. At some point, a kid had to be in a position to get noticed. How does that generally happen? Is it just luck?

I have a kid that played at one of these HA D3 that does well in the NCAA tournament. He went to one Showball camp and played on a local travel team. He had the grades and the skills and got the coaches attention at Showball, then followed up with an email to the HC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid that played at one of these HA D3 that does well in the NCAA tournament. He went to one Showball camp and played on a local travel team. He had the grades and the skills and got the coaches attention at Showball, then followed up with an email to the HC.

We're on a similar path -- I hope. Just wrapped sophomore year. Ivies and D3 are on a different recruiting calendar, so everything I have heard says that it makes sense to do Showball in the summer after junior year. Is that what your son did?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid that played at one of these HA D3 that does well in the NCAA tournament. He went to one Showball camp and played on a local travel team. He had the grades and the skills and got the coaches attention at Showball, then followed up with an email to the HC.

We're on a similar path -- I hope. Just wrapped sophomore year. Ivies and D3 are on a different recruiting calendar, so everything I have heard says that it makes sense to do Showball in the summer after junior year. Is that what your son did?

Not that poster, but yes, summer after junior year for D3 (I don’t know about ivy - that’s not my kid’s path). We started way too early (at kid’s instigation, but still, we went along with it) by going to a couple of events after Freshman and Sophomore years. It didn’t hurt anything, and now my kid is really comfortable at showcases and talking to coaches. But it didn’t do anything, either. And now, summer after junior year, he is in touch with coaches, has two offers, and will have choices. So hold onto your wallet (and time) and wait till after junior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid that played at one of these HA D3 that does well in the NCAA tournament. He went to one Showball camp and played on a local travel team. He had the grades and the skills and got the coaches attention at Showball, then followed up with an email to the HC.

We're on a similar path -- I hope. Just wrapped sophomore year. Ivies and D3 are on a different recruiting calendar, so everything I have heard says that it makes sense to do Showball in the summer after junior year. Is that what your son did?

Ivy schools have to adhere to the NCAA D1 calendar while D3 has no restrictions.

Summer after junior and Fall of senior are key.