As a parent of a 10 year old who LOVES baseball and plays travel ball I can promise you this is selective reporting. Yes there are certainly teams and parents who overdo it, but there are plenty of options that are affordable, fun, competitive and give your kids a great opportunity to learn different sports, team work, get outside, etc. We have 4 other kids and honestly we enjoy weekends at the fields. The siblings all get to run around and play together, we’ve grown close family friendships, etc. And what’s the alternative? Sitting inside playing video games? Wasting money on other stuff? Families aren’t forced to spend a ton of $$. If they have the means and they chose to, good for them.