re: The reality of travel baseball

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I also spent probably 100k on private tuition and that shite wasn't worth it either

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200k for me. Oldest went public his last year and he got more out of that than he did the previous 11

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So the age old argument if I don’t spend $1000s of dollars to ‘coaches’ my kid will be a drug addicted loser.

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frick, you're such a douche bag. He didn't say anything close to that

I hate my stupid job I’m always late to these threads

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I get yall confused sometimes

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chicken won't let me change my name

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His statement didn't bring up percentages, he said all played trave

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So I'll retract my previous statement of "all" but leave you with this:

While there is no exact census, the vast majority of modern Major League Baseball players—over 90% of American-born players—have played travel baseball during their youth. Travel circuits and elite showcase tournaments have effectively replaced traditional community leagues as the primary development pipeline to the pros.

Because the landscape has evolved heavily over the last two decades, participation breaks down in a few specific ways:

The Modern Era: For active players under the age of 35, playing for travel organizations (like Perfect Game, USA Baseball, or the Tri-State Arsenal) is nearly universal. Leagues like USSSA Baseball track thousands of alumni who have gone on to reach the MLB level.

Historical Numbers: According to Baseball America, an estimated 5,000 players throughout baseball history played in at least one travel league game, though that historical number is skewed by older generations who came up strictly through Little League and high school.

The Rare Exceptions: While almost all MLB players played competitive youth ball, the rise of specialized travel ball is not a strict requirement. Notable stars like Brandon Nimmo famously bypassed traditional organized leagues in favor of independent training and high school play.

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I recently learned that there's an entire set of parents who hold their kids back so they're bigger than everyone else in high school just for baseball. That's absolutely insane.

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Running into this a bit ourselves. Our oldest is starting out on the youngest ages of what is being discussed in this thread. He's pretty good - not the best, but pretty good, especially for a younger kid in his division (spring birthday). He would be really, really good bordering on dominant if we had held him back a year, but there is no chance we are going to do that because we are normal parents and he developing well socially and intellectually and all his friends are in his class and on his teams.

For 9,999 out of 10,000 of these kids, their odds of using their brains for scholarships and educational and professional advancement are far, far better than using their arm.

One other thing I've noticed is that for that 1 in 10,000, while you don't necessarily see it early because it's tough to see things like grit and will in younger elementary school kids, you can start to see the physical piece with a few of them (most examples I've seen so far are if mom or dad or both were D-1 or professional athletes, you can already kind of see the physical piece with the kid, even and especially if the parents are on the more laid back side with getting their kids into sports).

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Roughly 7% of high schoolers play in college.

About 1.5% of those get drafted.

Less than half of draftees ever play one day in the big leagues.

The odds of our kids going pro are somewhere between “struck by lightning” and “find a $100 in old shorts.”

I love youth sports (all my kids play a bunch of them) just keep a good perspective my friends. ??

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I agree with all these things. But, as the parent of a NCAA diver who spent her life in gymnastics and diving, the promise of a scholarship should never be the why. It also isn't really the reward either. I'm sure we spent as more than these travel ball people.

This is the thing. The real reward in being dedicated to a sport is the other lessons they learn. It's time management. It's commitment. Working hard, etc. Those lessons are priceless. Can you get it other ways than travel ball? Sure. But you also aren't getting it in a super relaxed fun league either.

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With baseball do you keep pursing this false hope by jumping around to different travel teams and paying for hitting coaches? Do the mental gymnastics end quicker for football and basketball?

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See above. Mental gymnastics of assuming you will get something someday isn't the why. There isn't a single gymnast or diver my daughter trained with (25+ hours per week) that isn't a successful adult. Without fail, they are the most dependable and hardworking young adults I know. They do not fail and I would bet on them every single time. That's the why.