[dustyanddaflames]

Hey all, just wanted to start a thread and get some insight from others with the state of baseball within Canada. I know there are a lot of us that played the sport growing up, and I am sure quite a few of us continue to play the sport in some capacity.

I have grown up in a rural setting, and continue to live in the same rural setting, and have seen the baseball numbers for kids within our community continue to plummet. Some now play soccer at the local level, some do summer hockey, and some have chosen to do nothing throughout the summer months. Whether their families are vacationing, or they just want their summers off - the numbers in a lot of communities I am involved in don't lie.

I got this idea for a thread from the MLB one, but didn't think it was right to have a long-winded post about the minor baseball within an MLB topic and steer it off course. But what is it that has baseball numbers so down within our country, and I am looking for insight from everyone (U.S. residents as well may be able to speak from their experiences)?

I know it was a major concern for Baseball Calgary during the early 2000's when I worked with the Calgary Herald for a year. I had numerous discussions with the President and was hoping to get a three-part article put into the paper before my contract had come up. I ran out of time and was never able to complete what I had started.

While doing this column, I attended a MLB ID camp within the city, and 16 kids turned out. Really shocked me to see so little interest to get their names into an MLB database, as their are a lot of talented baseball players throughout the city and province. Example, I grew up in a hamlet of 16 people and within a 20 mile radius we have produced two MLB contracts, one who will be drafted this upcoming year (would have been this year, if not for a bummed shoulder during Team Canada national junior team try-outs), and another playing at LSUS in his second year. So there is talent within our country to be sure.

Here are my thoughts:
1. The season is far to short for those who want to pursue a career in baseball in a lot of provinces throughout our country - unless you want to pack up and move to B.C. or Ontario, both provinces which are producing most, if not all, of our major league talent. I have never played any type of ball past midget AA baseball, but I know for me it was April/May until the first weekend in August - that was it.
2. The costs associated with playing higher end baseball. I don't know what the money situation is for playing baseball within Calgary's city limits, but I can imagine it'd be a costly tag to assure little to no traveling costs.
3. There aren't enough academy's or development programs within our country that will give kids a chance of achieving their dreams. These "pipelines" that are in place are often costly. I know that the Prairie Baseball Academy in Lethbridge is just shy of $3000 for fall baseball, and that is without assurance you will be there in the spring when games commence (which is more on top of the 3k you have already paid).
4. Parents just don't have the time to run their kids around anymore, as the economic crunch has gotten into most homes, and is seeing both parents having to work to try and make ends meet. I know for me, it was just my father that was working, and allowed my mother to drag me all over the province. It seems as though that isn't much in the norm of things anymore.
5. The chances of making the MLB are so slim, that it may deter kids from even wanting to plunge into the sport of baseball. Off the top of most people's heads, they may be able to name one or two Canadian's who have even reached that level.

I just wanted to see what others ideas are as to why baseball is kind of being ransacked by soccer, hockey and video games these days. I think that there are steps being taken to ensure that the sport doesn't die within this country of ours, as you are starting to see more and more high school academy's popping up in Alberta alone (i.e. Vauxhaul, and next fall in my hometown of Oyen).

While I love baseball, the lack of interest is concerning as to where it is headed and I'd love to see what others have to offer. Thanks.