Little League | Evolving Consumer

What happened to the days when baseball was more than just being about the money? We aren’t talking about the billionaire owners or millionaire players – we’re talking about the cost of Little League, which today apparently costs big dollars.

The New York Times last week reported that the cost for parents is anything but little – and it gives new meaning to the concept of “pay to play.” So what are we talking? As noted by the Times: “If you have not outfitted a little slugger lately, prepare for sticker shock. The youth baseball circular for one major retailer advertises bats in the $219.99 to $249.99 range.” Add in the $129.99 glove, $39.99 batting helmet, $19.99 batting gloves and shoes for $51.99 and today’s kids might need to become free agents just to play at the sand lot! Continue reading Big Costs for the Little League

This season has seen the “power” of baseball bats greatly reduced, at least in college, high school and little league as new regulations on bat size have taken affect. But one area that is still seeing forward development is in the “grips” – or more accurately the Tater Grip, which are now available nationwide at retail.

Tater Grip’s new patented, proprietary technology, ultimately a slide and shrink-to-fit installation system, allows ball players to custom design a bat handle label which is then visible through the slide-on, clear rubber grip.

Tater Grip comes packaged air-tight in a proprietary solvent which expands up to three times its normal size when exposed. When the grip is removed from the package simply slide the grip over the bat knob, and within a couple of hours, it forms and shrinks to the bat handle’s size.

(Video after the jump)

Continue reading Get a Grip – a Tater Grip