If this is your kid's first travel ball season, you may not be familiar with pin trading. The tradition started sometime around 1983 when Little League introduced their first trading pin. Since then, pin trading has become a mini-event that's a traditional part of many tournaments. Each team creates a custom pin and before the tournament gets underway, kids from different teams get together and trade. It's fun for the players and creates a spirit of goodwill.
Designs
Most trading pins for baseball and softball tournaments are between 1 .5" to 2" in size, with most being 1.75". Most teams come up with a custom design, but you don't have to start from scratch. Get design ideas from the websites listed at the end of this article.
If you decide to create a custom pin, make sure the design doesn't infringe on any copyrights or trademarks. For example, your team may call itself the Indians, but using the Cleveland Indian's logo infringes copyright. Also be careful of color. When ordering online, the color on your computer screen may not be the same as the color in person. If you can't see a pin sample before you place the final order, talk to someone at the pin company and get help with a pantone (PNS) color scheme.
If you want to get fancy, you have many options. In addition to the standard one piece pin, you can order ones with moving parts that spin, bobble, slide, or dangle. Need extra sparkle? You can order pins with glitter paint, blinking lights, and simulated gem stones. Just be careful as every little extra will increase your total cost.
Types of Pins
Most custom trading pins for baseball and softball are one of two types, soft enamel or photo etched. Soft enamel pins are the most common. They work best with designs that have color set in distinct areas. If, however, you have a finely detailed design or one with a color gradient, you will need a photo etched pin. Photo etched pins are just as colorful as soft enamel ones, but they don't have the metal ridges in between the color sections.
Cost and Turnaround Time
So how much will the pins cost and how long will it take to get them made? Most pins cost between $1.50-$2.15 each and most kids need 35-50 pins per tournament. The final cost depends on how fancy the pins are and whether or not your team buys enough to get a price break. In the past, our teams have bulk ordered with another team (either a year younger or older than us) with a similar name. This way we've met the higher minimums and gotten a lower price.
Allow approximately 3-4 weeks for the entire process. Most companies will work based on the art you provide. They create a proof and you need to approve it and confirm your order before they will start to work. Once they have a confirmed order, most places will turnaround your pins in two weeks. But for the entire process, you'll need at least three weeks. If it's during the busy tournament season, you may need four. If you're on a tight timeline, some companies offer pre-made stock pins that your team can buy. See the list of websites below for more information.
Pin Storage and Display
Once your kids start trading pins, they'll need a place to keep them. Most teams either buy towels or bags. My kids have always used a towel. The team mom gets towels with our logo embroidered on it for $10 each. I've also seen pin bags that look more like a zip-up school binders with cloth pages inside. The advantage of these is that they hold many pins so if you do a lot of traveling and pin trading, a pin bag may be worth the extra cost. Expect to pay $25-$30 for a pin bag.
Whether your team goes with a custom pin or a stock one, one that's fancy or one that's plain, or one that's soft enamel or photo etched, one thing is for sure-your kids will have a good time trading pins and they'll have a lasting memento of their time in travel ball.
Websites that sell custom sports trading pins:
http://www.thetradingpinhub.com
http://tradingpingalaxy.com
http://www.tradingpinoutlet.com
http://www.allaboutpins.com
If you're in a hurry, these companies also offer stock baseball and softball trading pins:
www.tradingpinsdirect.com
http://www.baseballtradingpins.net
