When you hear the term "baseball mom," what comes to mind?
Yes, there is the stereotypical view of infighting and drama in the stands as we watch our kids play, portrayed in "Team Moms: Baseball" a new Paramount+ reality TV series executive produced by Kim Kardashian. But you see that behavior in dads, too.
Kash Shaikh saw something much deeper in the often-scrutinized world of youth sports space.
"I haven't met one parent that's like, 'Oh, this wasn't worth it,'" says Shaikh, chief marketing officer for Perfect Game, the baseball and softball platform and scouting service that runs tournaments and showcases across the country, "because, at a minimum, it's positive time with your kids, keeping them active."
The issues – and the contention – can
arise with a lack of understanding of how the world operates. Perfect Game is leaning on figures who can have the most insight into it: moms.
"The one constant I've seen is just the passion and support of moms who are obviously the biggest fans of their kids," Shaikh says. "They're really the linchpin to everything that happens on the field."
Perfect Game announced Thursday, Oct. 8, a new social media-driven initiative known as PG Moms. The platform will debut this week at the WWBA World Championship event in Jupiter, Florida, with additional content rolling throughout October.
PG Moms, according to a release from Perfect Game, will be anchored by "The Perfect Mom Podcast," which will be led by reality television personality Evelyn Lozada.
"'The Perfect Mom Podcast' is a little tongue-in-cheek because, as we all know as parents, we can never be perfect," Shaikh says. "It's like we're trying our best to hold everything together. And the topics that are gonna be on the podcast are gonna be things that we really believe are relatable to parents across the country."
How will PG Moms work, and what issues will it tackle in youth sports?
According to the release, the PG Moms platform will feature Lozada and several other moms who document their families’ experiences traveling to events. They will be creating content on site and appearing on Perfect Game’s new show, PG Central.
Topics will include balancing participation with performance and competition with playing time; choosing between national and local events; and navigating personality clashes involving coaches and parents.
"So what do you do when you're driving home and your son goes 0-for-4 with three strikeouts?" Shaikh says. "What's that conversation like? Or what happens when you can't stand the new assistant coach on your son's new travel ball team?
"There's a lot of topics that I think are going to be fun and also informative … Kim Kardashian beat us to launch, but we've been planning this for a while. Our show’s gonna be kind of a different complement to the moms story."
Why is Perfect Game focusing on baseball moms?
Kash Shaikh says while baseball moms are known for being planners of events between games, coordinating walk-up songs and activities at the hotel, they are also some of the most knowledgeable figures about the entire experience.
"We really need to shine a spotlight on these moms and also enable the ones that really have learned a lot to be able to help those that are just kind of beginning their journey within the travel baseball ecosystem," he says. "Once you're in this space, you really start to understand it, but as you're on the outskirts or just getting in, there's a lot of things you've got to learn.
"There's a lot of talk about the cost of youth sports. But when you really get into it and talk to parents, what I often hear is (about) the relationships that they've made, the memories that are made, the magical parts of their kids' childhood are those road trips, are those times at the hotel, in the hotel pool or around the hotel lobby, all those core memories that bring families together.
"I think the only tears I've seen are when it's all over. I'm excited for these moms to tell that story as well."
Who is Evelyn Lozada and what will 'The Perfect Mom Podcast' entail?
Evelyn Lozada, the former fiancée of retired NBA All-Star Antoine Walker, is best known for her work on the VH1 reality series "Basketball Wives."
She has a 12-year-old son, Leo, with former MLB All-Star Carl Crawford. Leo plays in the Perfect Game system.
"She's been kind of following and shadowing Leo over the last couple years, and she’s got a unique take on the role of moms within travel baseball," Shaikh says. "But we will have several other moms helping create educational, inspirational, funny content about their travel mom experience in travel baseball. They'll be talking about a lot of similar issues together. They have different takes, and sometimes they're not always going to agree, which is cool and normal."
Shaikh says the podcast, which will also feature big-league players and celebrities, will launch later this month.
Where can you find PG Moms content?
Look for content on Perfect Game’s social media channels such as Instagram, Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) and the PGTV app.
Steve Borelli, aka Coach Steve, has been an editor and writer with USA TODAY since 1999. He played baseball in high school, rowed in college and spent 10 years coaching his two sons’ baseball and basketball teams. He and his wife, Colleen, are now sports parents to a college and high school baseball player. For his past columns, click here
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What's a 'perfect' baseball mom? New platform has fun with question
