Valley Dodgers’ Problems With Financing Are Not Unique

I was very concerned when I read the article in the Valley section (“A Team in the Red,” July 20) regarding the financial plight of the Valley Dodgers baseball club. I too feel sorry that they need almost $12,000 to travel to Kansas for the NBC World Series. However, what makes them so different from other sport teams and organizations that don’t have the ability to “advertise” in your sport section as did the Valley Dodgers.

One example (and throughout the Valley there are many): My daughter, Debby, plays on the San Fernando Valley Shilos, an Amateur Softball Assn. team that is playing in San Antonio, Tex., in August in the 18-and-under national championships. Our team also is in need of money, however, either through fund-raisers, summer jobs, or parents, each of our 18 players will attempt to come up with approximately $700 each to fund their trip. In addition, Tony and Joanne Venditto, our administrators, have also put thousands of dollars out of their pockets to fund the Shilos throughout the summer along with the players paying their own way to weekly tournaments. The Shilos will get by. Broke or not we will be in San Antonio in August.

This problem is not unique to just our team but almost every youth team anywhere, and I can only suggest that the Valley Dodgers dig deep into their pockets, hold fund-raisers or talk to parents and relatives the way our athletes do.

HARRY DAY

Burbank