Coach Pitch Leagues – I Don’t Get It!

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Ultmate Pitching Machine

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Zooka ZS 740

T Ball is a great concept… see the ball, hit the ball, then run.
It’s a great beginning and where a lifelong dream can be born.
Nothing wrong with a season or two of it… actually a lot that’s right about it!

But then what? Generally a town or league determines between coach-pitch, or machine pitch…and sometimes even kid pitch…my least favorite for these newbies.

If you have the choice…please choose a pitching machine league for your own children and if you have any say in the decision on a league-wide basis…please influence having the kids batting against a pitching machine.

Here’s some strong reasoning:
Machines are more accurate… by a long shot… especially if you understand which machines to purchase.
Dads & coaches just are not as accurate or consistent as a machine designed to do this one thing… pitch a straight ball at a specific speed. Innacurate humans can lead to long breaks in the action and impatient young ones swinging at terrible pitches…. Influencing bad swing mechanics and the potential of more failure as these bad habits quickly set in.

The 38 MPH “Rainbow Pitch”
The reduced pitchers speed and arc of a pitch required from a coaches hand tends to be more severe and less game-like than pitches from a pitching machine. Machines pitch from a lower, thus straighter plane.

Throwing “aimed” balls (typical pitch velocity of this age group is 38-40 MPH) is like a throwing a dart, it is diffiult to remain consitent for anyone.

It is actually a habit we keep an eye on with older pitchers who struggle in the middle of a game. These pitchers try so hard to be accurate that they actually need to be reminded to just throw it, not aim it!

You have probably seen this happen… the pitcher who looks like he is praying for a strike, rather than throwing one.
It’s usually followed by the coach walking to the mound to discuss it… then followed by some good pitches… or the end of the day for the player.

Either way, throwing darts is great for the game of darts… but not for pitching a baseball.

The problem with considering Pitching Machine Leagues basically revolves around operating costs of the machines themselves and sometimes, the lack of electricity at the field… and most don’t want to add a power generator if its avoidable…for lots of reasons (money, noise & smelly kerosene come to mind).
(some machines are lousy in the area of consistency from wet or softer balls… check our suggested Ultimate Pitching Machine and The Zooka ZS740 below if this is a concern to you)

And don’t forget batting practice… once your league owns a few pitching machines for league-play, all your coaches will now be able to give their players tons more swings in practices too!... for no extra investment either!

Plenty of Choices To Overcome The Problem
Assuming Pitching Machine Leagues make sense to you, it now becomes a matter of your budget, model choices & convenience.

We Now Carry Over 32 Pitching Machines from $200 to $3000!
Due to the tremendous growth of youth baseball in the last years, some very innovative inventors and manufacturers have seen and addressed the issue of affordable league, team & backyard pitching machines. The problem, as usual, is at what point does inexpensive become junk?

It is my hope that you will consider our advise, so please check out these recommendations whether it’s for your own backyard or your own league, travel baseball club or your town:

Least Expensive:
The Ultimate Pitching Machine – now less than $200. (reduced from $239.)

Unbelievably, our inexpensive Ultimate Pitching Machine may be the most deadly accurate pitching machine we carry!
It also overcomes the problem of needing electricity to run it. It has a large powerful spring that the coach “loads” by pushing a lever down with his foot. Velocity easily adjusts for varied age players and will work for all players through age 13! It throws any size and weight ball from a golf wiffleball to a soccer ball.

It does not use a spinning wheel to propel it so it doesn’t care if the ball is wet or muddy or different from the last one you just pitched!

We have carried it for years and have had 2 returns in all the hundreds we have shipped. It is now approved as the pitching machine of choice by Cal Ripken (Babe Ruth League) Baseball! Order now

The Heater Junior - now only $299.95

This is a good entry-level machine.  It uses a traditional spinning wheel (tire) to propel any baseball sized ball whether it is a light or soft safety-ball or an official game baseball or rubber machine pitch dimple ball.
It 45 mph model has an abs plastic housing and comes complete with a corkscrew 12 ball automatic feeder that is more appropriate for solo practice and not pitching machine leagues. We have been using a Heater Jr. and its matching outdoor backyard batting cage at one of our lucky test-players for over 2 years and have had no issue with it (a few strings have popped in the cage net…not bad for 4 seasons of Atlanta weather on balls coming off the bat of our strong 13 yr old tester! Order Now

The Heater Baseball- now only $399.95
The Heater Softball - now only $399.95

These identical looking machines improve on the concept of our Heater Jr. model above. It throws fastballs over 50 mph and is entirely made of steel for longest lasting use…even the auto feeder is steel!

At only 30 lbs, it is super easy to get to and from the field and includes a carry handle to free up your 2nd hand for carrying the tripod legs… no wheel barrel required as you see in some of the hundred-pound traditional machines. I have used mine as recently as batting practice last week with 2 of my college pitchers (they still think they can hit… lol). I chose this machine for this workout simply because it was so easy to load into the trunk of my car without risking damage to my back or my trunk.
You can use any lightweight or official game leather or rubber dimple baseball (or 11” or 12” softball in our softball-only model).
Excellent longevity & price for youth leagues or backyard use! Order now.

The Zooka Air Powered Pitching Machine- now only $689.95

Here’s one of the more unusual pitching machines you will find and a real secret for those pitching machine leagues who have discovered it… and a personal favorite of mine!
It was designed by a couple of Little League dads who happened to be engineers by trade. Man, they did it right! Order now

Check Out These Features: - a dream for all Machine Pitch Leagues! 

1. Our Zooka ZS 740 is the 1st fully digital baseball pitching machine (no softball version yet)
2. Adjustable from 25-65 MPH & only 35 lbs!
3. One of the best-built machines we have (few moving parts)
4. Uses compressed air so no problems with wet, muddy, lightweight or heavier balls.
5. Perfect for fly ball practice using safety or tennis balls… game balls too!
6. An Internal rechargeable battery that will throw up to 550 pitches between charges! Note; leagues should consider the optional $99 external battery to double or triple this capacity!

FYI:
Is Your Budget $199?
Last Minute update – As we are going to press, I’ve received an update from the factory that we will have a limited supply of our very popular Base Hit Pitching Machine. It has been out of stock for some months and we will only have a few dozen to offer. The BaseHit is the lowest priced wheel-type real ball pitching machine ever created…we sold tons of them which is why they have been completely out of stock for some months! Order now.

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