Customer Spotlight: Merchants Black 12U Baseball Team

Anyone who’s spent time around youth baseball and softball leagues knows the importance of trading pins. They’re as much a part of the tournaments as the game itself, with players eager to make new friends by swapping pins with players from other teams.

One of the premier tournaments for players throughout the country is the Cooperstown Dreams Park Tournament, held each year in Cooperstown, New York, the home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. More than 100 teams gather in one place for a weeklong series of games. That’s a recipe for a trading pin extravaganza! Every team wants to have the coolest, best looking pins there.

“Trading pins in this Cooperstown baseball tournament is well-known and one of the highlights for players, said Carly Maddox Lawhead of the Merchants Black 12U (age 12 and under) team.

When the Merchants Black, a select team from the Seattle area found out they were going to the 2026 Cooperstown tourney, they hadn’t ordered pins before, With a word-of-mouth recommendation, the team turned to our Trading Pins Direct division.

“Your company came recommended by another team that purchased pins from you,” Lawhead said. “We contacted a few trading pin companies. Your company had the quickest response, friendliest and most helpful employees. The whole experience was easy, even with a last minute change/adjustment to one of our designs.”

The team created pin designs for the tournament, including one that features a local celebrity.

 “We designed and purchased three trading pins,” Lawhead said. “One black and white with the Seattle Space Needle, ferry boat and mountain to represent our region; a pink sparkle Big League Chew for a fun, baseball-themed addition to trading with other players; and a Jimothy the raccoon pin, due to his recent rise in fame in the greater Seattle area.”

The pins were a grand slam with the Merchants Black players.

“The players and families loved the finished products!” Lawhead said.

Our customer service drew praise as well.

“Everything was easy and low stress,” she said. “Your constant communication was extremely appreciated especially with last-minute changes with our timeline constraints for the tournament. If the boys are ever in another tournament where they trade pins, we would use your company. Thanks so much! Roll Merch!!!”

Update: Roll they did! The team finished in the top 16 out of 104 teams in the tournament, ultimately losing a close game to a team that made the final four..

Congratulations, Merchants Black 12U! We’re always grateful to hear such a vote of confidence from our customers, Carly. We’re happy to have played a part in the team’s Cooperstown experience. And we’ll bet your team will be back to plenty of tournaments in the future! When they are, we’ll be there, ready to supply all your trading pin needs. Say hello to Jimothy for us!