Ep. - 1730 - TEAM MOMS: BASEBALL

Reality Life with Kate Casey

Kate Casey and Chris DeRosa review the Paramount+ series 'Team Moms: Baseball,' which explores the high-stakes world of elite youth baseball

Key takeaways

• The Legendary Players Academy reportedly costs approximately $3/1,000 per year in tuition alone.
• Kim Kardashian serves as an executive producer for the series 'Team Moms: Baseball'.

Main topics

• Team Moms: Baseball review
• Youth sports culture

Notable quotes

The dream of going pro may feel a little bit more close than other parts of the country.

Conclusion

The episode provides a critical look at how extreme wealth and parenta

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:03) Welcome back for another episode of Reality Life with Kate Casey. I am so excited about today's episode because I asked Chris DeRosa to watch with me Team Mom's Baseball on Paramount+. Chris doesn't have any kids. He never played youth sports. I thought this would be a very eye-opening experience. Now, it's important to note that this show is set in Scottsdale, Arizona, and I think the setting matters. To put into perspective, every spring, Major League Baseball comes to the Phoenix area for spring training. And you have 15 Major League Baseball teams training at 10 ballparks across the valley. And then the rest of the year, the sunshine means the kids can play baseball 12 months a year. There's no off-season. There's no snow day. And when you grew up with big league ballparks down the street and a travel tournament every weekend, The dream of going pro may feel a little bit more close than other parts of the country. It's also a breeding ground for delusion because the reality that your child is going to play in Major League Baseball is... Pretty unbelievable. I mean, the statistics are working against them. Now, this particular show takes place at the legendary Prep Academy. It is a baseball-focused private school that opened in Scottsdale two years ago. And students spend roughly two hours a day in class. I would wonder if it's even that much. And the rest of the day is training. So a typical day, and I know that many of you have academies where you live that are similar. It's like you show up, you're doing strength training, agility, you do 40 minutes of math. And math, I don't even know if it's specific to a kind of math. Basically, your entire day is training, training, training. This is a lot of wear and tear on a young body. And you're coached by specialists in the sport. As you can imagine, this is very costly. You can't get a specific price on the website. It's been rumored to cost about $31,000 a year, of course. If you have kids in sports, you know that that's basically just like the bottom level. You add to that equipment and travel and hotels and gas and meals and all of these other costs that come with it. So these families are paying private school prices for a shot at a dream with very long odds. It's also important to note Kim Kardashian is an executive producer. She and her friend came up with the idea after talking about how intense youth sports parents can be and all of us with kids in sports would have gone, well, yeah, obviously. Now, we've got seven families participating in the show, and let me give you the lineup. Nina runs a Pilates studio. She's very direct, a girl after my own heart. In the first episode, she meets with the coach and calls him a punk, and the conversation turns to her own conduct toward another student, and that incident becomes a major storyline for the first episode. Riley and Dallas Baldry, they are ambitious, they're confident, and they have a son who dresses like Pauly D. Melanie and John are frequently in the middle of the conflict. John is sort of, to me, the father that was really successful in high school sports and believes that his son will be as well. And the mom kind of like walks behind them and just kind of agrees with everything. Heather and her ex-husband, Scott, are co-parenting their son named Striker. And again, his name is spelled S-T-R-Y-K-E-R. And then you're worried. He never had a chance to play any other sport or be a bowler because they expected him to be a baseball star. Trish is married to a former NASCAR driver, Casey Mears, so their family has firsthand experience with professional sports. But as you will see, I feel like she was probably supposed to be on Real Housewives of Scottsdale. Erin tries to keep the group together while holding strong opinions of her own. And she's got a husband who... is a little bit too much of a gossip. So a lot of moving parts to this show, set in a beautiful place. Chris has some issues with the architecture and the interior design. Speaker 1 (4:16) We had a ball talking about it. I think it's a great show to binge on the weekend. If you love sports, you're going to get a kick out of this. If you have kids in sports, you're going to see some people that you know and the different characters. I've been, and I say this in the episode, I've been scrolling through social media, kind of get a feel for it. I actually feel like there's a huge population of dads that are watching this. This may be their gateway drug. to reality television shows for you if you're married. Get his feet wet by watching this. He's going to get fired up. And the next thing you know, you're going to go, well, if you like this, you should watch Love Undercover on Peacock. And then you can find your way to Southern Charm. Again, the best time as always with Chris, I think you guys are going to want to binge the show. It's called Team Moms Baseball. It's on Paramount+. Here's my interview with Chris. Baseball. Speaker 1 (5:13) Baseball. What did you play sport growing up? Speaker 2 (5:15) And sure didn't. Speaker 1 (5:16) Not one. Speaker 2 (5:17) I played soccer for like a minute, but then I was like, all right, I don't like doing this. Where I grew up, there were like people that were like, their parents were so, their parents were these people that were like, they're going to go pro and they're this, and they're so good that they're going to blank, blank, blank. And like, we're going every weekend is like full of like either dance. You know what I mean? Because remember, I'm from the world of, I'm from the area that. Abby Lee Miller was domain was, you know what I mean? They live like 45 minutes away from me. So like either dance or like, you know, baseball, actually there was like a lot of really good, like a lot of baseball players or a few basketball players from like my town that like, were like, Oh, they played in college and it was a big deal and blah, blah, blah. But yeah. So I knew families like this, but not to this level. Speaker 2 (6:04) But what a show. P.S. What Speaker 1 (6:07) a show. Now, when I grew up, if you're a really good athlete, your goal was to use that to get into college. And then I moved to Southern California and I started dating my husband. And he said offhandedly that two people who were... pro sports players like were in his high school class. One was an Olympic swimmer and one was a tennis pro. And I was like, I'm sorry, what? Speaker 2 (6:32) Yeah. And Speaker 1 (6:33) then I moved to this town and there are a bunch of people who are former pro or Olympic players. So there's definitely pockets of places in this country where you're going to find, depending on the sport, pros. And I suspect that Scottsdale is probably one of those cities where a lot of former pros go. to live because of the weather. And when you have a community like that, people who were pros often have children that have natural talent. Other people who do not come from that background, they have children and those children typically have to work a little bit harder. For example... In this community, we have a lot of volleyball players. And if your child signs up for the beginning volleyball club teams and you're filling out the paperwork, they ask you about your parents or you as a parent. Did you play? How tall are you? I mean, it's like a well-oiled machine. And you do have certain advantages if your parent was also a pro athlete. I think they also look at those kids like, not only will you be genetically... be a little bit gifted. But the parent probably understands and accepts that if the child wants to be part of a travel team, there will be added expenses, there'll be added travel. It's probably less of a headache to explain that versus the layman. You're like, okay, if you're going to sign up for the soccer team, you're going to be paying $3,500 a year. We expect them to be here every week. This isn't just you show up and for the games, you've got to be practicing on the side. So there's all of that. In a community like Scottsdale, which I assume is probably a little bit like mine, You've got a lot of people that had some success and then go and live in a nice warm spot. And I think that the people who live in that community want to align themselves with them socially. And sometimes they think the way to do it is through their child's sports. And to me, that's what I think this show is about. Speaker 2 (8:31) And in many of these... worlds, you know what I mean? Of these, like my kid is playing this sport and so we're all there and we're the parents of mobile. It's a way for the families to, because they know that they're never going to amount to anything greater than this. They can just be in high school for the rest of their lives with the sports. Correct. Which makes me want to end it all. Speaker 1 (8:54) All this to say, Speaker 2 (8:55) loved this show. Speaker 2 (9:00) One of my friends is a very big high up on the ladder of the creation of this show. And I have yet to ask them any questions. So I'm waiting to do this so I can be unbiased. But then you know that the minute we close this laptop, I'm going to be calling them and be like, what's this person like? What's this person like? And Speaker 1 (9:19) you will report back to me. And I'll tell Speaker 2 (9:20) you secretly not on a microphone. Speaker 1 (9:26) Let's start at the top about this baseball academy. I'm presuming Kim Kardashian and the mom that was on the travel baseball team with her or the soccer team. I think it was the soccer team and they discussed, wouldn't it be great to have a show like this? Just like every other person who's ever worked in unscripted TV or been participating in some sort of travel team has thought, this world is insane. Yeah, it should be the mom of the Speaker 2 (9:50) baseball team. Yeah, it really is. We didn't reinvent the wheel with the concept. And Speaker 1 (9:55) I'm presuming that their plan is to franchise this, like to make it like team moms. Yeah, team Speaker 2 (10:00) moms basketball. Yeah. Totally. Yeah, team moms football. Speaker 1 (10:04) Baseball is an interesting beginning sport because I do think in the world of sports, youth sports, you have a very different type of parent. Because for example... My child plays lacrosse and I find that most of the parents, their goal is to use lacrosse to get their child into college. But for baseball, I feel like a lot of the parents, it's like, we need this child to play professionally because we're hoping that this is our meal ticket. When it comes to like Speaker 2 (10:34) high, high, Speaker 1 (10:35) high level, it's fewer people that are like, I hope you can play in college. And also because that sport, especially pitchers, it does such wear and tear on your shoulders. Some of these kids that start off playing really young, it's been my experience, and I have a freshman boy, that a lot of his friends are not playing baseball anymore. They have too much damage to their shoulders. Speaker 2 (10:56) Burned Speaker 1 (10:57) out. Speaker 2 (10:57) I... To me, the biggest, the most upsetting part of this show is that it highlights something that I feel like very detrimental in America, which Speaker 1 (11:09) is Speaker 2 (11:09) you. Speaker 2 (11:11) Like I wrote how many, this is my first note of all of this, of the pages that I have on this show. Most of them being like, thank you for this amazing scene. The first note that I have in one of my most negative notes is how many of these kids are starting this reality show already injured. There are 13 or 14 and recovering from injuries that full grown adults get. It's very upsetting. And I wrote, what are the long-term repercussions of this amount of strain on their bodies as adults? Yes. Like the fact that they already, they're like, oh, this person, oh, he fell on his bad knee. And then the one of the parent goes, he has a bad knee. Like I have seen so many people go through. collegiate or lower, you know, this kind of thing, collegiate level sports where they know that they're not playing professionally or they know that they're just doing it because it's Speaker 1 (12:01) a Speaker 2 (12:01) thing that they've been doing since they were young and it's something that they've always done, wreck their bodies for the rest of their lives. And I remember so vividly and I wish I could remember exactly like what the title of this article was or the title of this interview. But I remember NPR and I listened to this once. It was like NPR did a thing about CTE and football. Speaker 1 (12:22) Yes. Speaker 2 (12:23) And this is back when that was all really starting. That conversation was really starting. And they interviewed all these moms, kind of like people that would be casted on like team moms football, basically of like the mom being like, this has been my entire life, my whole life. Like my dad played football. I like my brothers played football. And now my husband played football. And now my kids are playing football. Speaker 1 (12:46) Football Speaker 2 (12:46) is the American pastime, blah, blah, blah. I don't know what to do. Like now that I know that it's so detrimental to my kid's health and that my kid could have like severe brain trauma as a child, like I'm so scared for my kid, but there's nothing I can do because this is my entire identity is wrapped up in this sport. Boy, Speaker 1 (13:05) that's so sad. And I remember that being like bone chilling. Speaker 2 (13:08) It Speaker 1 (13:09) really is. Speaker 2 (13:10) You know? And I, there's something about it that is so... Speaker 2 (13:16) What is the, what truly, what is the point of all of this in the sense of having the kids be this young and have this much, much pressure on them. When later in the show, the, a lot of the parents give interview bites of being like, why is blank couple taking this so seriously? It's not like any of these kids are going to play in the MLB. And Speaker 1 (13:37) I'm like, Speaker 2 (13:38) isn't that the Speaker 1 (13:39) point of all of this is to try to get them to play in the MLB. Well, then I thought, I think that all of these parents kind of all, with the exception of one, and I'll get to them. I think they all know this child of mine has no ability to play the big leagues. Speaker 2 (13:54) But I Speaker 1 (13:55) think they're all collectively hoping that instead of the meal ticket, the child being the meal ticket in terms of baseball, the meal ticket will be television and TV personalities influencing. Speaker 2 (14:07) I don't even think, but that's the thing is like, who were they to know that this TV show would come along? Speaker 1 (14:12) Oh, I think that there are so many reality TV producers that have made their way through Scottsdale and had Speaker 2 (14:20) introductory Speaker 1 (14:21) conversations with people. I mean, the Baldry's alone, they seem like a family that has had... Kopey's discussions about branding, personal branding, family branding. I mean, they're throwing spaghetti at the wall. We can't even Speaker 2 (14:35) get to, I can't even start with that. We can't get to that. We can't get to them because that's a full situation. But I get what you're saying. I'm more like, I wonder if it's more of a status thing in their Speaker 1 (14:48) area Speaker 2 (14:49) too. If I go to LPA, which is like legendary prep academy, isn't that what it's called? Speaker 1 (14:55) Well. I have a real... Or Legendary Speaker 2 (14:57) Players Academy? What is it? LPA? Speaker 1 (14:59) Legendary Players Academy, I think. Well, here's my issue. I've said this before. I'll say this again. I believe we have a crisis in America where a lot of these academies are propping up and Speaker 2 (15:15) what Speaker 1 (15:16) they're asking families to pay for. full well knowing that that child does not have the talent or the capacity to keep up with the other kids. The tuition, which they refuse to publicly post, is purported to be around $30,000 a year. And when I tell you that, that is not... That's not the total amount. That is just the tuition. That's like to walk in the door. You have to pay for uniforms, tournament fees. There's probably other like extra... accoutrements that are important. Again, Speaker 2 (15:50) $30,000 to turn the lights on. Exactly. That's like getting a basic Speaker 1 (15:53) car without any of the bells and whistles. Speaker 2 (15:55) Yes. Barely, you turn it on and it can kind of start. You just got a Kia, Speaker 1 (15:59) but it doesn't even have tires on the car. Yes. My question for the people that operate these academies, how do you look at yourself in the mirror knowing that this child probably will get injured? has no capacity to play at like even a high high school level, let alone collegiate, let alone MLB. And you look at these families in the face and then you take their money. How do you sleep at night? Speaker 2 (16:25) And I think you are right. And I think. And it's like, when I think of this school, I think of like, oh my God, this is like a Speaker 1 (16:33) prodigy of like a kid Speaker 2 (16:34) that's like so good at baseball. And like, they're so great. And guess how great they are? So great that they couldn't even, their like middle school baseball team is full of Speaker 1 (16:42) fucking losers compared to them. You know what I mean? Speaker 2 (16:44) Like, that's what I'm thinking. But then as the show goes on, it's like, oh, I think these parents have the kids in there because they want them to be these prodigies and they're not. And there's not one thing wrong with the kid. The kids are just kids that play baseball because it's a sport and it's fun. And the parents have turned it into like, you need to, this needs to be your brand and this needs to be this. And like, you need to be so good at this that I'm going to spend so much money instead of the kid just like playing a sport because he enjoys it and it's fun. Speaker 1 (17:13) I think there are two things. One, I think that the kids that are part of this academy. If they do have high level, and I'm assuming they don't, and that's why they wanted to do their TV show, because they wanted to promote it in order to get more people, because the lights are barely flickering. You know, like they need some extra money. The kids that are successful at this academy did not want to participate or probably left the school once they found out they were filming Speaker 2 (17:35) the show. Remember, again, famously Laguna Beach. They went to the popular kids at the school and they were like, no. And then the people that we ended up getting were the sub-tier. Speaker 1 (17:45) Yes. The second part of it is, again, I think most of these people have put their kids into this because this is the cool school. This is where we're going to get some social climbing situations. Like they want to go to school with Casey Mears' son because he's a NASCAR driver. Like, oh, his son goes there? Okay. We want to be invited to those parties and go to those events and be around those people. That's Speaker 2 (18:11) who he is. Speaker 2 (18:14) Oh, that's why she's so removed from the whole thing. She's gotten better than this. Yeah. We'll get there. Well, Speaker 1 (18:19) not only that, she thinks she's so much prettier than all of them. Yes, I am. Again, she's been called 14 times to be on Real Housewives of Scottsdale. That's never, ever happened. And you can tell. Yeah. Speaker 2 (18:30) All Speaker 1 (18:30) right. Speaker 2 (18:31) Shall Speaker 1 (18:31) we go through each family? Speaker 1 (18:35) Yeah. Who's at the top of the board for you? Speaker 2 (18:39) As like Speaker 1 (18:39) best? Like I got to talk about these people. They're insane. Speaker 2 (18:44) Nina and AJ are the stars of the show. Speaker 1 (18:48) Yeah. Speaker 2 (18:49) Love Nina. Speaker 2 (18:52) Like, we're cooking with gas with Nina and AJ. I love them. Nina knows exactly what she's doing as far as a job on a reality television show is concerned. Yes. And she's funny. And AJ is really hot and defends her in a way that's not misogynistic, unlike most of the... Like, she is the only wife that's like... I'm the outspoken one and my husband is my support system. Whereas all the other ones, like the wives are co-opted by their husbands. Yes. Some of which I'm attracted to and some of which I'm not and we'll get there. But she's like the one, only one. Like as much as it's like billed Speaker 1 (19:27) as Speaker 2 (19:27) team moms and it's like the moms are the stars. The dads really... Speaker 1 (19:32) The dads are the monsters. They really... The moms are really bad. They're the monsters and Speaker 2 (19:35) they think they're the stars and their wives should just shut up and be quiet. And I'm like, there's a little... There's a lot of misogyny in the show that I'm like, I don't love. I don't know why I Speaker 1 (19:42) put teen moms. And Speaker 2 (19:42) a lot Speaker 1 (19:43) of Speaker 2 (19:43) homophobia that we'll get to. But anyway. Speaker 1 (19:46) Nina and AJ are stars. AJ's hot. Speaker 2 (19:48) AJ's always... And hotter when he doesn't have the hat on. I want him to kick that hat right off his head and just... With the one that says form? And the one that says... or whatever, which is like the kids' baseball team. Like, he doesn't need, P.S., a white hat, please. Scott, this is so Arizona. You know what I mean? A white hat, like, kill me. But