Hi

My daughter has had button phobia since she was very young - and
still has. Nothing we have done has made it ease or go away.
At one point, when she was about 12 or 13 she had to wear a button
shirt for a theatre production. She loved the youth theatre she was
in and managed to cope with the buttons, but wearing them while
doing something she enjoyed still didn't make the phobia go away.

I would try replacing the buttons with snaps so long as that won't
set your son apart from the rest of the baseball team. Children can
be cruel and knowing that he has such a phobia can be ammunition for
bullies.

Whatever you do, make sure you involve your son in the deciding what
happens. 'Having' to wear buttons will make him more anxious but if
he feels able to take control of the situation then that may help -
even if he decides that he can't be in the team.

My daughter is an adult now and still button phobic but the phobia
is a only a very small part of her life. She can handle buttons if
she has to (as the last poster said, just as you could pick up
something disgusting, like a cockroach - if you HAD to). She is
never going to like buttons but nor do they rule her life :-)

Hope this helps a little
Barbara