Some Varieties Of Baseball Hitting Aids

By Agnes Dickson


Good hitting requires not just an eye and reflexes but a disciplined swing. A good swing requires the number of repetitions that don't come when one has to constantly throw fresh baseballs to be sprayed a couple hundred feet in all directions across the park or backyard. Baseball hitting aids can cultivate any batter's natural and talent.

The simplest of these aids is the common batting tee. Essentially it does the same thing a golf tee does but comes with a stalk to hold the ball higher, usually adjustable and ranging between just below thirty inches to nearly four feet. This places the ball right within most young hitters' sweet spot, letting them repeat a well-balanced swing.

To keep the ball close after hitting it hard, one can supplement the tee with a portable screen that nets the ball once struck. Some of these nets have targets stitched inside them so the batter can practice placing the ball. Like the tees themselves, the screens are perfect for baseball or softball as well, and can be weighted and designed not blow away or tip over when it is windy.

The problem of netting the struck ball is avoided altogether with the use of a swing tee. With these tees, the ball is affixed to a swinging arm that is parallel to the ground. Once the batter strikes the wall it whips around on that stalk but snaps back at the end of the rotation so it can be batted again.

Any sort of batting tee is good enough for honing one's form through repetition, but none can simulate the action of being pitched to by a real pitcher. Unfortunately, needing to have a pitcher to practice with almost always means having to cut down on the repetitions one needs, not just with form, but to practice seeing the ball into the strike zone and timing that first move to ball. Here, a pitching machine is a crucial piece of equipment.

Many people naturally think of a pitching machine as a rather expensive proposition, the sort of device only baseball teams and batting ranges can afford. It might come as a surprise to find that there are plenty of home pitching machines out there, especially for the younger players who need them most. Some of them cost little more than a bat or a glove, and in fact are some of the least expensive aids one can find.

There are protective nets, looking like elongated rooms made out of mosquito netting, built to contain the batted balls when they are pitched, either by a pitching machine or by a cooperative practice pitcher. On the higher end of the price scale come the packages of equipment, often represented by famous major league players. With these packages also comes a good deal more differentiation between baseball and softball.

There is a lot more equipment once reserved for the practice field that is now available for home use. All of it is conveniently scaled down for smaller athletes, but sturdy to withstand those shots that are sure to come as their skills sharpen. This equipment is quite possibly sharpening the skills of future batting champions every day.




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