Mississippi has always had the annoying habit of making life better for the richer at the expense of the poorer.
The thought came to me as I considered the incident in which a coach and an umpire were arrested for having a fistfight at the end of a travel team baseball tournament in Starkville.
I wondered how it could have gotten to that point. It’s a kid’s game, after all.
Then I read that the average cost for a kid to play travel team baseball is $5,000, twice that if the kid is playing at the elite level.
Travel team parents have a real investment, not only in terms of money, but in time and travel. It is not uncommon for travel team parents to spend an entire weekend at a tournament. Other interests, hobbies and opportunities fall by the wayside.
That kind of investment raises the stakes, and what once was a wholesome, inclusive game that every kid could enjoy has become something that has an almost mercenary feel to it. There is an intense drive to earn scholarships and make it to the major leagues. It’s not uncommon to lose all sense of perspective under those circumstances. I think that atmosphere played some role in Sunday’s incident.
Travel team baseball is the worst thing to ever happen to youth baseball.
What started as a concept to provide the best youth baseball players with better competition, has become the domain of the haves and have-nots. And let’s face it: Most of our kids are in the have-not camp, either because of inferior talent or inferior resources.
Based on income and cost-of-living statistics, it is estimated that only about 20% to 25% of Mississippi families can comfortably afford the full travel ball lifestyle without significant financial strain. A kid from a poor family is three times less likely to play travel baseball than his more affluent peers. Imagine the game without a Hank Aaron or a Willie Mays or a Joe DiMaggio, all of whom grew up in poverty. That’s one of the unintended consequences of travel team baseball.
The emergence of travel team baseball has crippled the recreational baseball leagues that are organized and operated by city park and recreation departments. Travel teams have led to a shortage of players, coaches and umpires.
Only the best of the best make travel teams, which means most kids play a truncated season. In Columbus, for example, the youth baseball season lasts just seven weeks. In Starkville the season runs eight weeks. Both seasons end in May. No wonder then, that 70% to 80% of kids stop playing organized baseball by the time they reach middle school.
What makes it all the more disturbing is that it was the result of a conscious choice.
Starkville and Lowndes County have spent millions of taxpayer dollars for facilities that allow them to compete for those travel team tournaments, which generate a lot of money for hotels, restaurants and shops. It’s just another profit center, another niche market to be exploited. They have traded a community-centric rite of passage for a specialized, expensive industry that caters to a small segment of the community while reducing opportunities for poor kids and those of low to average ability.
Starkville and Lowndes County officials justify their actions by pointing out that they also offer recreational baseball for those kids who don’t have the talent or income to play travel ball.
But when recreation baseball seasons last only a few weeks, it’s a sure sign that it’s mostly lip service.
Don’t be deceived: Starkville and Lowndes County made a calculated decision, one that benefits the few at the expense of the many.
But, then, that’s the Mississippi way, isn’t it?
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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