Rawlings baseball factory
I've always dreamt of visiting the Rawlings baseball factory in Costa Rica, but there are two problems:
1. It's not open to the public.
2. It's in Costa Rica.
Well guess what. I just found out that I'm going to Costa Rica for a week in January!
Unfortunately, however, this doesn't solve problem #2 because:
1. This will be a family vacation, and I'm the only person in the family who's obsessed with baseball.
2. The factory is in the middle of the country, in a small city called Turrialba. We'll be staying over 100 miles away near Puerto Jimenez on the South Pacific Coast.
And then, of course, there's that whole "not open to the public" thing. If I knew I'd have the time and capability to make it to Turrialba, I'd start writing letters to the Rawlings people, but I just don't think it's gonna happen.
So close, and yet so far...
Hey Zack,
I worked in PR not to long ago and this is exactly the kind of thing that a company would love to help you out with. I imagine if you explained what you do, mentioned the books and the Blog they would probably set up a way for you to visit their factory. I would try contacting these people:
James McCusker
John Flanagan
john.flanagan@icrinc.com
Rawlings Media Representatives
203-682-8200
If they knew you were going to give them a nice write-up they might just be willing to make your dreams happen and make sure you got a nice guided tour.
This worked for me a couple of years ago when I wanted to see the reunited Talking Heads play at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and I didn't want to wait until it was on VH1 so I used my status as a staff writer on the DePaul newspaper and ended up with all access press passes.
Good luck with making it happen.
-Chris
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Wow. Thanks.
I mean, THANKS!
It's after midnight right now, so I'm not reaching for the phone just yet, but this info will help me out a lot. Even if I can't make it to the factory in January, it would be nice to have a connection at Rawlings. Maybe they'll do something for my 3,000th ball...
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I'm not sure if Rawlings -- or any companies with factories in Latin America -- really want to publicize what the working conditions are like down there.
http://www.mindfully.org/WTO/2004/Baseballs-For-Millionaires25jan04.htm
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Yikes. That's some article. Good point. I'm still not sure how exactly to pursue a visit to the factory, but this is definitely something I'll have to keep in mind.
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Well... I made a post that will explain to you why the Rawlings factory is good for Costa Ricans.
http://reid.mlblogs.com/scoreboard_26_6/2006/03/baseballs_for_m.html
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Maybe you miss this point: "So, if Rawlings would double the workers’ wages so they could live with a modicum of decency, it would add just 28 cents to the direct cost to sew the professional baseball.
Under this scenario of decency, the direct cost to sew the ball would now be 56 cents, or just over three percent of the ball’s retail price [$0.56 ÷ $16.99 = 0.03296]. It would be quite possible to do this without bankrupting Major League Baseball, or the Rawlings Company."
Found in this article that also descries how baseballs are made: www.nlcnet.org/article.php?id=99
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hey, i see it has been years since your quest to visit the baseball factory in costa rica...i am curious if you were successfull in getting a tour....My husband and I go to CR quite frequently and this time, since we are avid braves fans and have many balls in our c ollection of foul ball catches and etc also wanted to visit this factory ...so let us know how it went for ya...thanks, sharon in Oklahoma
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REID-
Very cool. Sorry for the incredibly delayed reply.
P_JOLICOEUR-
Interesting. Thanks for sharing the numbers.
SHARON-
Unfortunately, no, I never got to go. I'm still trying to find a way in, though...
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