Chasing Baseball Dreams

Bobby Minor
  • 0.0 (0)
  • Parenting

You're spending thousands a year on travel baseball. A better team. A bigger showcase. More lessons. A higher ranking. And you still have no way to know if any of it is actually working. ⠀ That's not an accident. That's the machine. ⠀ Chasing Baseball Dreams is the only baseball parent podcast hosted by someone with no financial stake in where your money goes. I don't run a travel team. I don't sell lessons. I don't coach for an org. I have no reason to steer you in the wrong direction. I'm Bobby Minor... former Division 1 player, 35+ years coaching select baseball and high school, former travel organization director, over 1,000 college recruiting assessments, and a college baseball dad who almost lost 2 sons to this game for 2 very different reasons, with one currently playing college baseball. ⠀ Every episode, I sit down with former Major League players, college coaches, scouts, and baseball dads who've lived through the same grind you're in right now. People who've been inside this industry long enough to tell you the truth about how it actually works. ⠀ Here's what you can expect. ⠀ Real conversations about what actually matters at each age from 8U to signing day. The questions you should be asking before you commit to a team, a coach, or a showcase. The stuff the industry doesn't want you to hear, from people who've been inside it long enough to say it out loud. And the truth about recruiting, development, and where your money is actually going. ⠀ No hype. No recruiting promises. No "get your son seen" nonsense. Just the one voice in this space with full-stack credibility and no financial tie to the machine that's taking your money. ⠀ New episodes weekly. Follow @chasingbaseballdreams on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook for daily content between episodes.

Episodes

  1. 1d ago

    Episode #3: Ben Jenkins CEO of Warstic Understanding the New High School Bat Rules

    Welcome to Episode #3 of the Chasing Baseball Dreams podcast where Bobby talks to Ben Jenkins. Ben is the CEO of Warstic and a former Mississippi State shortstop. He designs bats for major league players. And in this conversation, he says the thing most bat companies won't say out loud. The new USA high school bat rules are coming. Drop 4, drop 5, drop 6. Parents lost their minds thinking high school kids would be swinging USA bats that launch missiles. That's not what's happening. Ben breaks down why, and what the rule change actually means for your son. But the bigger conversation here is about something most baseball parents have never thought about. The heaviest, longest bat your son can control and flush the ball with is the bat he should be swinging. Not the lightest one. Not the one with the biggest barrel. Not the one a reviewer ranked number one. Ben talks about why mass matters more than bat speed when it comes to real exit velo. He explains why major league hitters almost never go lighter than a drop 2. He walks through bat profiles, from the 243 to the 271, and why the bat that looks the best almost never swings the best. He talks about what contact really means and why the game is shifting back toward hitters who can beat a pitcher multiple ways instead of swinging for the fence every at bat. He also gets honest about something most CEOs would never admit. When Warstic had the number one ranked bat, not every kid who bought it was a good fit for it. That's the part parents need to hear. The "best bat" is only the best bat if it matches what your son does in the box. We talk about his son Shaw heading to college baseball, the real reason kids struggle with a drop 3 in high school, why wood bats are one of the simplest and best training tools at any age, and how USA Baseball taking over bat standards from the NCAA could raise bat prices through licensing fees. If you've ever stood in a store staring at a wall of 100 bats wondering which one your son needs, this episode will cut through the noise. ⠀ 0:49 ... Welcome and intro to Ben Jenkins, CEO of Warstic 1:18 ... The new USA high school bat rules explained 3:18 ... What bats were like when we played (beezers, BESRs, and taking ground balls from guys with drop 4s) 5:43 ... The myth that a lighter bat means more exit velo 7:01 ... Ben's bat formula: swing the heaviest, longest you can control and flush 8:42 ... Why flushing the ball matters more than max exit velo 10:02 ... Why mass wins the physics equation 12:19 ... MLB players who want smaller barrels than most 13U kids swing 12:46 ... Why bat reviews feel so good to parents (and what they miss) 16:56 ... Bat profiles: the 243, the 271, the 110, and why shape changes everything 21:20 ... The overwhelm of 100 bats on a wall 24:05 ... Should every player swing wood in the cages? 25:49 ... How a parent with no baseball background can tell if the bat is wrong 27:42 ... "My kid is behind, he needs a lighter bat" ... why that's almost never the answer 29:53 ... Contact is coming back (and real uniforms at the All-Star Game) 33:37 ... Transition back to the USA bat rules and the "sell more bats" conspiracy 37:51 ... How USA Baseball benefits from the rule change through licensing fees 40:36 ... Why kids struggle with a drop 3 in high school (and how to fix it early) 41:25 ... Ben's son Shaw and his team switching to drop 3 a year early 44:20 ... What if Shaw wanted to swing a competitor's bat? 48:37 ... Being real in the age of AI and the repaint story #baseballbats #travelbaseball #youthbaseball #warstic #highschoolbaseball

    Episode #3: Ben Jenkins CEO of Warstic Understanding the New High School Bat Rules

  2. 1d ago

    Episode #2: D1 Coach Says Your 12 Year Old's Rankings Don't Matter | Texas A&M HC Michael Earley

    Youth baseball parents hear the truth directly from Texas A&M head coach Michael Earley in Episode 2 of the Chasing Baseball Dreams podcast. 35 years of coaching select baseball and high school, plus going through this process with my youngest son, who's playing baseball in college right now, taught me one thing: most parents are spending money and energy on the wrong stuff at the wrong time. Coach Earley confirms it from the D1 side. ⠀ In this conversation we cover: ⠀ 0:00 What D1 coaches actually evaluate when recruiting 3:15 Do PG rankings and grades matter? 5:14 Are college coaches scouting 12U showcases? 9:38 Transfer portal vs high school recruiting 12:08 Why the JUCO route is not plan B 15:17 A dad spending 30K a year on his 10 year old 17:27 Nothing at 12U matters in the context of recruiting 20:02 Compete over compare 21:29 How does an undersized kid without resources get found? 25:06 What "being seen" actually means to a head coach 27:47 Only go to showcases when you have something to showcase 28:52 What to tell a dad who is convinced his 12 year old is D1 32:39 Has a parent ever gotten a kid crossed off the board? 34:08 In and Out rapid fire with Coach Earley 36:44 Roster rules, scholarship math, and what a good offer looks like 40:43 Advice for the parent of a 9 or 10 year old ⠀ Coach Earley's starting center fielder this year played JV his freshman and sophomore year and was on the second team of his organization. He hit .340 with 20 homers and 20 doubles for the Aggies and went in the second round to the Chicago Cubs. Early dominance does not predict who makes it. That's one of the biggest things parents get wrong. ⠀ If you're a travel baseball parent spending thousands and wondering if any of it is working, this interview will change how you think about the journey. ⠀ Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss Episode 3. ⠀ @ChasingBaseballDreams

  3. 2d ago

    Episode #1: SwagnShades Tells Parents What Nobody Else Will About Travel Baseball

    Alex Hale played 2 ways in college. Got drafted. Built Chips Performance from the ground up. And he's put over 400 players through the recruiting process. ⠀ So when he says 90% of baseball is just playing catch... that's not a hot take. That's 400 recruiting journeys talking. ⠀ In this conversation we get into why most travel teams get development completely wrong, what college coaches are actually watching (and when they start watching), why the JUCO path might be the smartest move most families never consider, and the one question every parent should ask before they commit to a team and swipe their card. ⠀ Alex also breaks down why a dominant 12U team can actually hurt your son, why switching teams just so your kid plays shortstop is a trap, and what happens when parents chase the name on the hoodie instead of the reps their son actually needs. ⠀ If your son plays travel baseball and you've ever wondered whether the money is going to the right place... sit through this one. ⠀ Follow SwagnShades / Chips Performance: @chipsperformance Follow Chasing Baseball Dreams: @chasingbaseballdreams

  • 3 Episodes

About

You're spending thousands a year on travel baseball. A better team. A bigger showcase. More lessons. A higher ranking. And you still have no way to know if any of it is actually working. ⠀ That's not an accident. That's the machine. ⠀ Chasing Baseball Dreams is the only baseball parent podcast hosted by someone with no financial stake in where your money goes. I don't run a travel team. I don't sell lessons. I don't coach for an org. I have no reason to steer you in the wrong direction. I'm Bobby Minor... former Division 1 player, 35+ years coaching select baseball and high school, former travel organization director, over 1,000 college recruiting assessments, and a college baseball dad who almost lost 2 sons to this game for 2 very different reasons, with one currently playing college baseball. ⠀ Every episode, I sit down with former Major League players, college coaches, scouts, and baseball dads who've lived through the same grind you're in right now. People who've been inside this industry long enough to tell you the truth about how it actually works. ⠀ Here's what you can expect. ⠀ Real conversations about what actually matters at each age from 8U to signing day. The questions you should be asking before you commit to a team, a coach, or a showcase. The stuff the industry doesn't want you to hear, from people who've been inside it long enough to say it out loud. And the truth about recruiting, development, and where your money is actually going. ⠀ No hype. No recruiting promises. No "get your son seen" nonsense. Just the one voice in this space with full-stack credibility and no financial tie to the machine that's taking your money. ⠀ New episodes weekly. Follow @chasingbaseballdreams on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook for daily content between episodes.

Information

  • Creator
    Bobby Minor
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Bobby Minor