Pitching Machines Guide

Baseball pitching machines are a useful training tool for both baseball and softball players, and help to refine batting techniques by serving fast, reliable pitches at a continuous rate so that players can practice for as long as they need to.  Pitching machines allow players the freedom to practice whenever they want, for as long as they want without having to ask someone to pitch the balls for them for hours on end.

Pitching Machine

There are many different types of pitching machines, which vary in cost, size and pitching speed/type, and you can get machines specifically for both baseball and softball.

Portable Pitching Machines
This are useful if you do not have a designated batting practice area, as you can bring them out onto any field and run them either off a gas powered generator or a regular 110 volt power supply.  There are even some battery and manually powered machines available, which can be used for basic batting practice.

Pitch Speed
The pitch speed you need with depend on what type of league you are training for, and the age of the player, and generally the lower pitch speeds (50mph and below) are cheaper, and perfectly suitable for beginners and youth leagues.  If you playing at college or major league levels then you will need the higher speed pitching machines, which can pitch to at least 85-90mph.

Pitch Type
Some pitching machines allow for different types of throws, including fastball, curvers, sliders and risers, so think carefully about whether any of your players need to practice hitting these types of pitches or not when choosing a machine.  The more types of throws the more expensive the machine is likely to be, so there is no point spending out unless the variety of pitches is absolutely necessary.

Baseball or Softball
Some machines can pitch to both baseball and softball requirements, and these are handy for multi-sports centres and training grounds.  It can be much cheaper buying a machine that combines both requirements, rather than buying two separate machines, but if you only need to pitch to one or the other sport then just buy a machine that does the one job.