The Perfect Game: An Ecological Systems Approach to the Influences of Elite Youth and High School Baseball Socialization

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the elite youth and high school baseball socialization process as a whole and the role of professionalization and corporatization in this process. The unique nature of baseball’s development model in the United States (U.S.), through a dual-track feeder system (college or minor leagues) allows for a wide-range of challenges and sociological factors to influence elite youth and high school prospects. Understanding players’ experiences exposes these challenges and sociological factors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with four former elite youth and high school baseball players, one parent of a player, two coaches, and two media members. Using Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) ecological systems theory, the authors examined multi-level sociological factors contributing to participants’ socialization experiences. Key findings revealed corporate-level factors including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) bylaws, Major League Baseball’s (MLB) collective bargaining agreement (CBA), and related commercialized changes in elite youth and high school baseball had a pronounced influence on baseball players’ socialization processes. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.