Oh I too love the game. I played and when the time came I coached. A very rich and enhancing experience for all involved. I hate to see the sport be a revenue stream for equipment companies. Especially when they obsolete a gazillion bats with a vote. I call BS on that. A real sham.I've coached for about 5 years and yes, each coaches bag normally has a big and small bat for the boys that don't have the means to have their own. So yeah, our little town league has had to buy 2 bats per team, which takes away from scholarships, field maintenance, uniforms, and anything else we do with the dues and fundraisers.
If it was for safety, then I get it. But this is for performance. They even say it in the explanation. My best understanding is that they are trying to make aluminum / composite bats react like wood bats, some coefficient of bouncy or something like that.
It is sad to say that there will be a lot of boys using a bat that is a bit to short / light or long / heavy this year. I'm happy I have the means to get Evan a properly sized bat for him. But fear not, Rawlings, Louisville Slugger, etc. will be having a great year. And some suits in Little League, Babe Ruth, Cal Ripken, and whoever else was involved can pat themselves on the back for accomplishing whatever it is they think the accomplished.
As far as the glove, youth gloves aren't made with the quality they were when we were kids, but are better fitted to small hands, and are made with materials that don't take as long to break in. My son wore a hole in the palm, which only comes from use. I can't really complain about that. This glove I just bought will probably be outgrown in a year or two, at which point I'll buy the lifetime glove (yes they still make those, but they cost about $250). Even though my baseball days are behind me, I still enjoy a game of catch in the back yard.
There wasn't such a thing as a youth glove when I was a kid. My glove was far too large for me but I eventually grew into it. There is a hole where I hooked my index finger into the leather to keep the glove on when I started. I dug it out of the closet when I posted the details about it earlier. The leather is still supple and it's far from worn out. It was built to last and it has. But, it was way too big to begin with and I used it all through the leagues and high school ball.
I then played catch with my son and coached with it. Perhaps cheaply made but the correct size is a better avenue. However, I have a strange attachment to that old glove. A side note: I found four of my son's gloves in the closet too. Progressively getting larger and better made.