Team Insight

TEAM BASEBALL high school squads and Stateline Sports is selling baseballs, batting helmets, uniforms, cleats and just a few fielding gloves. "Many high school baseball players in our area are preferring to buy custom gloves directly from the manufacturer," Hill laments, adding that instead of teams buying bats, many of the players are also buying their own bats. For Al's Sporting Goods in Wilmington, DE, baseball is the number-one revenue generator. "We sell baseball to youth leagues, high schools and to travel teams," reports owner Bob Hart, whose biggest baseball clients are the local recreation leagues that play in both the spring and the fall. And their tastes have gotten fancier. "Our youth leagues are wearing Major League Baseball-replica T-shirts and hats," adds Hart. Without a doubt, baseball is the main revenue source for Scotty's Sports Shop in Royal Palm Beach, FL — as soon as you walk through the store's front door the walls and floor space are dominated by cleats, gloves, baseballs, practice pants, belts, batting helmets, batting gloves, bat bags, bats, hats, socks and catcher's gear. According to owner Jerry Steuerer, selling baseball in south Florida is year-round, with travel baseball, high school teams playing Fall Ball in September and October, traditional high school baseball in the spring and local rec leagues conducting their leagues in the fall and spring. As a result, Steuerer is selling baseball product to a player, parent or a coach nearly every day of the year. In Terre Haute, IN, baseball generates daily business at the cash register for Pacesetter Sports. "We sell everything in baseball that a player, fan, parent, coach or a team might need," reports manager Jared Frink. Among the best sellers: uniforms, baseballs, gloves, hats, belts, cleats, socks, bats and batting gloves, along with some bases, field paint and protective screens. Just as with Al's Sporting Goods in Delaware, the biggest baseball clients for Pacesetter Sports are the local youth baseball leagues, which play games in the spring and the fall. "In addition to local youth leagues, we sell baseball to middle schools, high schools, travel teams and some college programs," says Frink and they also supply everything to the baseball program at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. In Battle Creek, MI, the baseball business is alive and well for Jack Pearl's Sports Center, where owner Keith Manning says they sell everything in baseball from head to toe – minus the shoes – to travel teams, local rec leagues, middle schools and high schools. "e local schools are trying to start middle school baseball as a feeder to high school baseball teams, which is good for business," Manning reports, although he says that participation in local rec leagues has been hurt by some players deciding to play travel ball instead. e bulk of Manning's uniform business is to those local travel teams. "Travel teams are buying new uniforms every year, whereas high schools are buying uniforms once every two or three years," he notes. As you would expect, the beginning of the baseball season is tied to the local weather. "If we have a mild winter in February, people are thinking and buying baseball," Manning adds. "But, when there's snow on the ground, local players are not thinking baseball." Selling Everything Baseball In Iowa, high school baseball is played in the summer in order to get the best weather for the games. So at Iowa Sports Supply in Cedar Falls, high school baseball teams are the main baseball customers. According to Elliott Egglestone, a purchaser for Iowa Sports Supply, high school baseball programs are buying uniforms, practice pants, batting helmets, socks belts and socks, along with baseballs from Diamond, which is the official high school baseball in Iowa. Like many team dealers around the U.S., Iowa Sports Supply does not sell cleats and fielding gloves because the range of product available online is too big to stock and sell. It doesn't really sell many bats, either. "We've had a hard time moving bats in recent years," said Egglestone. While Iowa Sports Supply does cater to the needs of travel baseball teams, the interaction is usually not person-to-person inside the store. "For travel teams, we build online stores for them to buy what they need," Egglestone explains. In north Texas, Swanton, OH-based Game One sales rep Tony Duncan is busy selling baseball 12 months a year. "We're in baseball season all year long," says Duncan, who is based in Gainesville, TX, about 10 miles from 16 • Team Insight ~ January/February 2025 teaminsightmag.com Photos: Richardson; CapAmerica

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