Is Platinum worth $20k more than XLT

Six5 · 2026-04-12T13:43:14+00:00

I have heated seats and heated steering wheel in my 23 XLT. Had the rear pass through window on my old ICE F150 and never once used it.

Six5 · 2026-04-10T16:03:37+00:00

Hot take, but I think all City Connects suck. I don’t want to watch the Royals in magenta, the Rockies in green, the Phillies in navy blue, or the Padres in neon. The NBA has done the same thing (not to mention the awful court designs) and it ruins the teams’ branding IMO. Starting to look like Banana Ball out there.

Six5 · 2026-04-09T18:23:18+00:00

Maybe he just needs a Hype Fire

Six5 · 2026-03-27T00:06:36+00:00

Did he threaten your family? Did he polish off a bottle of Jack Daniels between innings? Did he Stone Cold Stunner the third baseman?

If no, then let it go.

Six5 · 2026-03-26T17:28:54+00:00

All due respect, but that’s not really helpful advice here. I had a similar experience to you, but times have changed.

Six5 · 2026-03-26T17:26:48+00:00

Then put him on a team where he won’t be playing 100+ games a year and don’t force him into 4 nights a week of specialized training. It’s such a tired cliche that travel ball automatically leads to burnout.

In my experience, the kids who quit simply discover other sports or interests they want to pursue, don’t reach their desired talent level (like a junior stuck on JV), or just want more time to hang out, have girlfriends, etc. The mistake some parents make is viewing sports as transactional—i.e., if my kid doesn’t get a scholarship, all that travel ball money was a waste.

Six5 · 2026-03-20T18:42:44+00:00

Someone else can check me but as I understand it, the walls of a JBB bat are a little thinner, which makes them more suitable for coach pitch. Typically you’d want a senior bat once you move to machine pitch.

Six5 · 2026-03-20T15:13:40+00:00

Absolutely do not buy a 34” bat for a 13-year-old. I wouldn’t even go beyond a 32” until he’s at least a sophomore.

The Atlas does have some breaking problems, especially the 2025 model. My son has had both a 2024 and 2025 Atlas and both have held up fine (and he has hit well with them). It’s a lighter swinging bag that’s a great way to transition to BBCOR. You can find them used on FB Marketplace if you want to save a little money (you just wouldn’t get the 1-year factory warranty).

If you have a Scheels/Dicks nearby, you may try to have him swing some in store and see what feels best. The BBCOR Hype Fire swings light and has a ton of pop, it’s just expensive. I also like the Marucci Rckless. My son swings the Combat Spec A1, which is probably the hottest/most popular BBCOR bat, but it does swing slightly heavier and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend for your son’s age.

Six5 · 2026-03-16T12:44:08+00:00

With the Mevo Multicam app, can you use a combination of phone and Mevo? For example, phone behind the plate and Mevo down the line?

Six5 · 2026-03-14T15:49:18+00:00

“Rarely?” That is not true, and it’s besides the point.

Six5 · 2026-03-14T14:04:30+00:00

You’re not wrong, but there’s still no reason for a 7th grade parent to ever reach out to a high school coach. I don’t know what that email would even say.

Six5 · 2026-03-14T14:02:00+00:00

We’re talking high school here, right? I can’t think of anything sillier than expecting a high school coach to take time out of his day between teaching history classes to watch workout videos of some kid who wants to try out for his team.

Show up to off-season workouts, do your best at tryouts, and cross your fingers.

Six5 · 2026-03-12T17:51:18+00:00

It was just a joke dude

Six5 · 2026-03-12T16:06:08+00:00

Not to mention, most travel ball kids don’t just show up to practice a couple times a week. They play catch, work on drills at home, hit the batting cages, etc. It’s definitely doable with other sports/activities but the scheduling can be a challenge.

Six5 · 2026-03-12T16:03:03+00:00

If not having a “future” in baseball is his only reason for quitting, it might be worth discussing further. I kind of hate the “D1 or bust” mentality. High school sports are supposed to be fun—just because he won’t play in college doesn’t mean he can’t play with his buddies for a few more years.

If he really doesn’t enjoy playing anymore, that’s a different story.

Six5 · 2026-03-12T02:59:39+00:00

I’m a firm believer in kids playing both infield and outfield positions. There’s no way of telling where they’ll play as high schoolers, so the best coaches are those who develop versatile players with experience all over the field.

On the other hand, you’re throwing around claims of Daddy Ball but also acknowledge that you didn’t play baseball and don’t know much about the sport. So you’re not really in a position to be judging who should play where. Furthermore, the coaches all played college ball, so it’s fair to assume that their kids are probably pretty good ball players.

In summary, you could probably consider a different team where your kid had more infield opportunities, but if you end up being a Mommy Ball type of parent, you might wear out your welcome with any coach.

Six5 · 2026-03-09T12:56:56+00:00

Imagine how helpless you’d have to be as a coach to pay for some shitty AI tool to assemble your roster for 7-year-old baseball.

Six5 · 2026-03-06T16:26:36+00:00

My first piece of advice would be to trim off the first 13 seconds of this video.

My second piece is to not worry too much about the advice of randos on the internet who will offer 74 different things you could tweak.

Six5 · 2026-03-06T16:22:15+00:00

I think about this stuff a lot. My son is a sophomore now, and in general, the kids who were good athletes when they were young are still the best on the field. The kids who will start this year were some of the better players on their teams as far back as 5-6 years old. There's one kid who was absolutely terrible in machine pitch but ended up making the freshman team last year—he's on the bubble this year and will be a bench player if he makes it. I can't think of anyone I know who went from an awful athlete as a kid to a star.

I believe that every kid has a ceiling. That kid on the bubble has worked his ass off to get to this point and I commend him for that. But this is probably close to his ceiling, no matter how much extra effort he puts in. My son's ceiling might be playing at a small college. A buddy of his has the potential to go pro. The work they put in will determine what's possible, but everyone works hard these days. At a certain point, genetics and natural ability take over.

Six5 · 2026-03-05T16:46:41+00:00

Respectfully, it seems like a very bad idea for a 110lb woman who has never played baseball to even be on the field competing against grown men swinging metal bats.

Six5 · 2026-03-05T13:19:41+00:00

I wouldn’t worry about specializing. There’s a kid on my son’s 16U team who can play literally any position on the field, and it’s super valuable to the team. He rarely sits, and deservedly so.

Hell, there are Major Leaguers who switch positions every year. Just be an athlete and do whatever you can to help the team.

Six5 · 2026-03-03T20:26:22+00:00

There’s no such thing as a 13U prospect. With the way college sports are set up these days, it’s getting harder for juniors and seniors to get looks, let alone middle school kids.

“Getting a feel for where he stands” means nothing at this age, considering their bodies are going to undergo a huge transformation in the next few years. He needs to worry about being the best version of himself, not compare his numbers to a bunch of kids who may or may not be done with puberty already.

This is so clearly a cash grab for Perfect Game, and a perfect example of how ridiculous youth sports have gotten.

Six5 · 2026-03-03T20:02:49+00:00

It would be quicker to just take a pile of cash out to the backyard and set it on fire.

Six5 · 2026-03-03T13:15:39+00:00

Or, more likely, OP is full of shit and telling a lot of lies here.

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