How To Select a Pitching Machine - Part 2

The first category for discussion is that of your surroundings.  If the machine is intended for use in your backyard or to take up to the park to use in a more open area the main area to consider is that of weight, setup and portability.  Decide where you intend to use the machine and if it will remain stationary or be required to be mobile.  Get the weight specifics, collapsible specifics (how small can it get?  Can it easily fit into the trunk of your car?).  If the item will remain stationary then you have a lot of choices.  If the portability becomes a factor for you then I would recommend that you do not purchase anything over 125 lbs.  This weight is the ideal weight for a robust pitching machine that can be handled by two adults or one adult and one strapping youth.  If the pitching machine is intended for your backyard, you should consider a forced air or single wheel machine.

The second category to consider is that of age and level of play for the hitter.  There are two schools of thought with this topic and I will share both.  The first is that a pitching machine is a one-time purchase (they do not wear out) and you should get the best one that you can afford.  I think that puts many parents in a bind when they are selecting a pitching machine for their personal use and their ball player is young.  The second school of thought is that the pitching machine is a device that should be purchased for the player at that stage of development.  This thought is that by limiting the functionality of a pitching machine to a few simple tasks (pitching, mainly) while players are at a young age, this will get them to use it on their own and allow them to get more swings in each day and week.  I agree with this point.  We bought a simple pitching machine that our kids could setup on their own and use it without us watching every minute and it worked out great for everyone.

The third category for discussion is the budget.  Only you will know what you are able to comfortably spend on a pitching machine.  If it is for your personal use and your player is less than 12 years of age I would recommend not spending more than $200-700 dollars.  If your player is older than 12 or if you will use it for your whole baseball team than I would recommend $600-1200 be your budget.  That is the type of expense that can be budgeted for when you have your team meeting at the beginning of the year so the cost can be spread across all families on the team equally.  

The fourth category is the pitching machine type.  If you would like to return to the Baseball Skill Aids homepage, click on our logo in the upper left-hand corner.  We will discuss the merits of the different types of pitching machines on the next page of this article series – How to Select a Pitching Machine that is Right for You .