Pitching Machine Versatility

Written by Carl Fogle


While pitching machines are most often thought of as tools to aid in batting practice, there are other situations in whichrepparttar right pitching machine can be an invaluable tool forrepparttar 132915 results-oriented coach or manager. Many modern pitching machines can be set to throw groundballs and fly balls which can be a great help in many situations — two of which we discuss below.

Tryouts: From little league to high school ball, tryouts are a necessary but sometimes overwhelming process where literally hundreds of hopefuls must be evaluated in seconds apiece. Most tryouts are set up in stages — a groundball stage, a fly ball stage, a batting stage, and a pitching stage — where characteristics such as arm strength, running speed, agility, fundamentals, and power are judged. How best to judge all of these elements quickly and accurately? Consistency.

As any coach who has tried to hit hundreds of fly balls or grounders with a fungo can tell you, consistency is not something easily achieved by a person. That’s where a pitching machine likerepparttar 132916 Jugs Lite-Flite or Jugs Combo Machine comes in. By setting up a pitching machine like these two at each of our hypothetical testing stages, each individual can be consistently judged byrepparttar 132917 same set of criteria as everyone else. Let’s takerepparttar 132918 groundball stage as an example. By settingrepparttar 132919 Jugs Combo Machine to throw grounders instead of pitches (a snap given its 360 degree swivel design), each player can be sentrepparttar 132920 exact same grounder. This allows for quick and accurate evaluation where it is easy to judge a player’s speed, reflexes, and mastery of baseball fundamentals. How is this player’s hand speed versus that player’s? Does this player properly set his feet and position himself well to takerepparttar 132921 grounder? Withrepparttar 132922 right pitching machine, these questions become simple to answer with some basic observation and your draft picks will become obvious.

Andrepparttar 132923 same technique can be used at all of our tryout stages. Throwingrepparttar 132924 same fly ball repeatedly quickly reveals which players can properly readrepparttar 132925 ball’s flight path and who hasrepparttar 132926 best foot speed. And a pitching machine’s presence inrepparttar 132927 batting stage goes without saying. Do you want to throw 2,000 pitches in a tryout to evaluate bat speed, rate of contact, and power? We didn’t think so. A pitching machine in a tryout is a tremendous asset in determining who is a natural outfielder or infielder, a power hitter or an Ichiro because of their consistency and versatility.

The Many Functions of Baseball Caps

Written by Ken Austin


Baseball caps serve many functions. They aren’t just seen onrepparttar field but onrepparttar 132914 streets, inrepparttar 132915 stands and almost anyone you look. Baseball caps have an interesting history,repparttar 132916 first ones were worn byrepparttar 132917 New York Knickerbockers and they were made of straw.

There have been many styles of baseball caps throughoutrepparttar 132918 years, ten different styles were advertised in 1888 in Spaulding’s Base Ball Guide. You could buy a baseball cap for 12 cents to $2.

Now baseball caps are available in numerous styles and colors. You can get a baseball cap that represents your favorite team. Baseball caps are sold at allrepparttar 132919 professional games and in sporting good and specialty stores aroundrepparttar 132920 world.

Baseball caps are worn by people of all walks of life and income levels. You see baseball caps not only atrepparttar 132921 games but at restaurants, parties, onrepparttar 132922 beach and in airports.

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