Like any superstar, Josh Anderson didn't want to sell himself cheap. So the pitching phenom and his father negotiated a deal that pays Josh's travel expenses, provides a personal hitting and pitching coach, and allows him to catch and play the outfield when he isn't on the mound.
The package is worth about $10,000 a year.
Not bad for a 12-year-old.
Once, youngsters played baseball on dusty sandlots. Then came Little League, with its child-size fields, cute uniforms and occasionally overbearing parents.
Now, there is "travel ball," an ultracompetitive form of youth baseball meant to groom gifted players for teenage stardom, college scholarships and, just maybe, fame and riches in the big leagues.
The phenomenon is being driven by the same forces that have transformed youth soccer, basketball and other sports: ambitious parents and their money.
Travel ball families spend as much as $10,000 a year on coaches, equipment, air fare, tournament fees and other expenses.
The complaints often heard about Little League -- that it overemphasizes winning and takes the fun out of the game -- seem almost quaint in the travel ball era. On this baseball fast track, no one even pretends that enjoyment is the main goal.
During the week, players as young as 7 spend hours practicing with professional coaches. On weekends, they and their parents take to the freeways, driving for hours to play in professional-style ballparks -- or flying across the country to compete in tournaments.
Some play on several travel teams at once, sometimes in multiple states. Their weekends are a jumble of long drives, plane flights, nondescript motels and inning after inning of baseball -- a regimen that lasts the entire year in warm-weather states.
Travel clubs vie for top talent. In an eerie echo of the professional sports marketplace, some teams even dangle financial incentives to land top players such as Josh Anderson.
Josh is regarded as one of the best 12-year-old pitchers in the country. He lives in Imperial Beach, near the Mexican border, and plays for the Southern California Redwings, based in Riverside. He takes a trip of up to two hours to home games in the Inland Empire. At least six times a year, the team flies to national tournaments.
Each week, Josh has three sessions with a batting coach, plus two pitching workouts with his father. He also plays basketball and, like many travel ball players, participates in Little League to be with his friends. Somehow, he finds time for homework.
