January/February
2025
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TEAM BASEBALL
What Ball Players Want
Kate Costello puts the ball in play.
Four players tell Team Insight their favorite gear for playing the game.

To get an idea of what avid, competitive baseball players are buying and using these days, Team Insight conducted a quick informal poll of four baseball players from different parts of the U.S. — two high school teammates from the southern part of the Hoosier State, a senior citizen from the eastern section of the Volunteer State and a young girl from the southeastern region of the Sunshine State.  

The two Indiana teenagers are a pair of high school seniors, Braden Richey and Mikey Wright, who play varsity baseball for the Seymour Owls at Seymour High School; the senior citizen from Knoxville, TN, is 74-year-old Dusty Stauffer; and the young girl from Florida is 13-year-old Kate Costello, who is in the seventh grade at Polo Park Middle School in Wellington.

Dusty Stauffer awaits his turn at the plate.
Games played every year ...

Richey: I am playing 60 baseball games a year. I play for Seymour High School in the spring and Top Tier Indiana in the summer. After high school, I will play college baseball at Anderson (Indiana) University.

Wright: I usually play about 60 baseball games a year for both my high school and the Top Tier Indiana travel team in the summer.  In college, I will be playing college baseball for the University of Indianapolis.

Stauffer: For 15 years, I played throughout the year when I lived in south Florida. Then I moved to eastern Tennessee. Since there is no local adult baseball league for me to play here in Tennessee, I only play once a year in the Roy Hobbs World Series, which is six games. I’m now 74. I am still young and I play in the 70s division. This past November, I batted .485 in the Roy Hobbs World Series and I came home with a bronze medal.

Costello: I play 40-50 baseball games a year. Right now, I am getting ready to play rec baseball this winter/spring for the Wellington Marlins here in Wellington. This fall, as an eighth grader, I plan to try out for the boys’ baseball team at Polo Park Middle School in Wellington. n

Favorite fielding glove ...

Braden Richey: I use a Heart of the Hide glove from Rawlings.

Mikey Wright: I use a mitt from 44 Pro.

Dusty Stauffer: I like a catcher’s glove from Mizuno and a first baseman’s glove from either Mizuno or Rawlings.

Kate Costello: My favorite glove is the Wilson A2000. When I play catcher, I use a Mizuno GXC 105 catcher’s mitt.

Favorite bat ...

Richey: The Atlas from Louisville Slugger.

Wright: The Goods from Demarini.

Stauffer: I swing a 34-ounce ash bat from M*Powered Baseball. I also like wood bats made from birch and maple.

Costello: The Marucci Cat X or the Demarini Voodoo One (Pink Lemonade).

Favorite cleat ...

Richey: The Alpha Huarache from Nike.

Wright: The Alpha Huarache cleat from Nike.

Stauffer: I wear Nike cleats. Any model from Nike is fine, as long as it fits.

Costello: The Lindor V2 cleat from New Balance.

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