Richard Casady wrote:
On Mon, 25 Aug 2008 21:01:52 -0400, hk wrote:

Richard Casady wrote:
On Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:36:13 -0400, hk wrote:

he Co-Op used to sell button down Gant shirts for $7.95. Same shirts
are now about $100, and the funny thing is they cost less to make now
than they did when I was a schoolboy buying them.
You do realize that a ordinary wood baseball bat costs a hundred
bucks? A major league glove costs about only about 160, somewhat
surprising.

Casady

What's your point, that we're being gouged by corporations?

I was surprised the bats were so pricey, compared to the shirt or
whatever. Bit OT but that is a way of life at this NG.

Casady


I've seen a couple of different TV features on Louisville Slugger and
wood bats, including explanations of why the wood bats were so expensive
these days. I don't recall the reasons, but one of the rationalizations
was that aluminum bats were much, much cheaper to produce.

A $100? Way too high. There are Louisville Slugger bats of wood for
under $30. And there are also LS wood bats that go for $100. Depends
upon wood and finish.


In the 1970s, when one of my kids really got into baseball and softball
(she played both), I got "roped" into managing and coaching one of the
times. Managing had mostly to do with extorting money from the parents
of the players to buy bats, balls, uniform shirts and hats. Anyway, I
was appalled to note the transition from wood to aluminum bats was
complete and there was nothing I could do about it. I hated aluminum
bats, and still do. They don't "feel" right when you hit the ball, and
they sure do not sound right.

I played organized baseball from the little league to the pony league to
the babe ruth league to the industrial league in New Haven. There were
no bats but wood Louisville Sluggers.

One of the sponsors of one of our teams made sewing machines: Griest
Manufacturing in New Haven. There were Griest plants in several parts of
the country, and several of them sponsored kids' baseball teams.