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S ince late last year, team dealers have been accepting baseball and soball orders and (sometimes) delivering the goods, though some products – specifically baseballs and soft- balls – were not easy to come by this past season. Another issue faced by leagues in both sports: Since games are oen played on municipally owned and operated fields, in many cases access to them has been COVID restricted, adding just another curve ball to the 2022 season. So, while baseball and fast-pitch soball are back, they are not completely back. Dealers Cope With The Challenges For the most part, the diamond sports are significant contributors to the bottom lines of team dealers around the country, but the above-mentioned challenges have created some headwinds. Nevertheless, things are much, much better in the summer of 2022 than they were in the bad old days of 2020 and in 2021. At Scotty's Sports Shop in Royal Palm Beach, FL, baseball is the major revenue source, reports owner Jerry Steurer. And because of south Florida's climate, it's always baseball season. "Baseball really doesn't end here in south Florida," says Steurer, who has been in business for more than 30 years. "I sell to three local recreational leagues and a number of travel teams – both baseball and soball – through- out the year." In addition to selling balls, pants, ball caps, fielding gloves, batting gloves, batting helmets, catchers' equipment, bat bags, belts, ball buckets and cleats, he does a great deal of artwork on shirts and jerseys. "More than 80 percent of my business is screenprinting and baseball is my main sport," Steurer says, adding that the supply chain issues are not affecting his business these days, making him an exception to the rule in 2022. "I'm having no problems getting what I need to sell," he says. Meanwhile, in nearby Vero Beach, FL, base- ball is easily the number-one selling category for Dave's Sporting Goods. And it's been a great year for selling baseball as traffic has been solid all year. "For us, it's been back to normal," reports co-owner Becky Whipp. For Dave's Sporting Goods, the demand for baseball and soball product never stops. "Rarely a day goes by that we don't sell something either baseball or fast-pitch so- ball," Whipp says. "Our local recreational youth baseball leagues play in the spring and in the fall and travel teams are playing throughout the year." Dave's also sells the sports to a few private high schools in the area in the spring. Another big plus for Dave's Sporting Goods is its new location next to a four-field baseball complex that has games every weekend in the summer. "So we have a strong Saturday walk-in business," says Whipp. Playing Ball in the Garden State Up in Whitehouse Station, NJ, the baseball/ fast-pitch soball joint category is the top-sell- ing category for Darrow's Sporting Edge, which sells fielding gloves, bats, batting gloves, batting helmets, balls, uniforms, catching gear and cleats to an expanding baseball and fast- pitch soball community. Although here the supply chain issue rears its ugly head. "When it comes to fielding gloves and cleats, manufacturers can't make them and deliver them quick enough," says custom order man- ager Vinnie Iaione, adding that despite the challenges the dealer had a great year selling batting helmets. Meanwhile, he says the uni- form business was so strong this spring that some customers had to be turned away. As for bats, Iaione says there was a bigger demand for less expensive models this past spring, but he expects demand for more ex- pensive bats will grow as the summer moves along and travel teams take to the diamonds. In Holyoke, MA, sales in both baseball and fast-pitch soball were solid, but not spectacular for Holyoke Sporting Goods, according to owner Betsy Frey, whose teams range from T-ball through American Legion. "My baseball/soball sales were better than last year, but not as good as they have been," says Frey, who calls the 2022 season an odd year with unique challenges. "I was hoping it would be better than it was, but we survived." As a sign of the times, Frey says that one of the local youth baseball leagues that usually ONDECK On the surface, youth baseball and fast-pitch soball appear to be thriving — and they are in many cases if you take a look at playing fields and bleachers across America. But, to use an apt metaphor, in many cases both sports are chugging into third base, hoping to round for home during the all-important summer and fall ball seasons. sportstylemag.com • sportstyle September/October 2022 • 55 Baseball and soball are back, back, back – almost – for team dealers in 2022. By Mike May TEAM / BASEBALL & SOFTBALL

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