Bucket of softballs?

[chapelhillbilly]

Why is it that I can walk into any sporting good store and purchase a bucket of baseballs in a heartbeat but I called around to 6 different stores trying to find a bucket of softballs and no one carried them? I ended up having to order some off of ebay? Maybe there is some reasoning behind it but to me it looks like they are saying boy's sports are more important. I mean, Academy Sports had a dozen buckets of baseballs sitting there and I couldn't even find a bag of 12" fastpitch balls. They had a bag of 12" slowpitch balls (which is again mainly a man's game). Nonetheless I was pretty aggrevated by the end of the day.

 

[ElmoBlatch]

Why is it that I can walk into any sporting good store and purchase a bucket of baseballs in a heartbeat but I called around to 6 different stores trying to find a bucket of softballs and no one carried them? I ended up having to order some off of ebay? Maybe there is some reasoning behind it but to me it looks like they are saying boy's sports are more important. I mean, Academy Sports had a dozen buckets of baseballs sitting there and I couldn't even find a bag of 12" fastpitch balls. They had a bag of 12" slowpitch balls (which is again mainly a man's game). Nonetheless I was pretty aggrevated by the end of the day.

Sporting goods stores are in the business of making money, not making statements about whether boys sports are more important than girls sports. If more people like you ask for softballs then they will start carrying more softballs. It's that simple. Don't look for a sexist message around every corner. It's silly.

 

[Coach JV]

I had the same problem when shopping for a fastpitch bat at Dick's.
They carried plenty of slow pitch bats, not a single FP bat to be found.
Funny part is, they were only a mile from a FP tournament with 70+ teams,
and the host organization had 8 teams plus 2 big rec programs within 10 miles.
They were happy to order, but said there was not enough demand

 

[starsnuffer]

I've only ever found buckets of synthetic "practice balls" for softballs in sporting goods stores. Both Big 5 and Sports Authority usually have a few of these.

Your best bet is to buy a 5 gallon bucket from a hardware store, then order used leather balls from ebay.

-W

 

[jinjet95]

I have the same problem with Dick's. If they don't carry fastpitch equipment, how do they know there isn't enough demand? Most people just quit shopping there without saying anything. There is a Dick's less than a mile from a major complex that holds fastpitch tournaments every weekend. I think they're missing the boat. Also, most of the girl's sports apparel is pink and features soccer. I wrote Dick's a letter a couple of years ago telling them how disappointed I was in their new store, but never got a reply. I do better on the internet or a small locally owned sporting goods store.

 

[lawdawg]

As much as I hate to go to either - around here - Walmart/SAM's usually have those cheap Mcgregor practice balls (24) in a bucket for about $60. Was in a bind at tourney and forgot to bring a bucket/balls had to pick one up - was surprised to find it. Since then, I've seen them there fairly consistently.

Our rec league uses "pennant" balls - was told by a board member they get them for around $35 - 24? They are fine for practice - not a game ball - we bring our own for games and take theirs for practice.

 

[fivepotsogold]

We have old detergent buckets here ... bought a bunch of used leather game balls that someone took the time to find in the woods behind the field (sold on Ebay).
Some were white, most yellow ... at least half were basically used only for a couple of foul balls.

Many fine for pitching ...the rest are great for hitting/fielding.

At this point we have 4+ buckets of 11" and 5-6 of 12" and I will probably unload some at a tag sale or on Ebay myself.

 

[livingontheroad]

What percentage of boys do you think play baseball, vs girls playing fastpitch softball?

You would be amazed. When my DD was in grade school, probably 50-75% of the boys played organized baseball.

Ony 2 girls in the school played fastpitch. Thats 2 out of about 150 that were age eligible. So Id guess the # of baseball players outnumbers fastpitch players by probably 50:1 or so.

Softballs are not made in the same quanitity, so they are more expensive to produce. They are also larger and take more materials to make. So they cost more. A dozen leather baseballs is half the cost of a dozen leather softballs.

Todays synthetic cover balls will hold up just fine for personal practice. I wouldnt sweat them for hitting off of tee, etc in yard.

I would be cautious buying the "home run" balls etc off of ebay for several reasons.

1) no high school or organization I know of will play competition with synthetic cover balls, but there are quite a few on ebay selling them claiming they are home run balls, used in HS tourneys, etc. These sellers are obviously lying.

2) Depends on construction, but many balls are ruined if they get rained on, the compression and weight changes and/or they will never dry out totally.

Nothing wrong with buying good used leather balls if you can find them, but with shipping off of ebay , there usually arent any great deals to be found. I see people pay almost as much for used balls with shipping as new ones cost .

Make a friend at the sporting goods store and get them to order you a few dozen balls at wholesale cost.

 

[obbay]

Contrary to what everyone else is saying, I have been able to purchase softball equipment (including buckets of NCAA balls- $60) at Dicks, Sports Authority and Modell's- but it has to be before or during the season. Typically they will run out of some merchandise during the season and won't re-stock till next year. also, their selection may be limited, but i haven't found a brick and mortar store that has anywhere near the selection you find on the internet (including the pro shops at the indoor training facilities.

 

[obbay]

bought a bunch of used leather game balls that someone took the time to find in the woods behind the field (sold on Ebay).

you just reminded me- I should make one more "hunting" trip before the leaves fall. We have one heavily used softball field that has woods along side of it. the first 5 to 10 feet along the edge is usually yields a good harvest of used balls. most are lightly used. fouled off into the woods and forgotten about.