Batting cage.
Soften the Blow
Batting cages are designed for professional and home use. They are set up indoors or out on playing fields and back yards. They are used to increase batting ability and hand eye coordination. Batting cages are made out of durable steel pipes with a net that consists of strong nylon and polyethylene that is strong enough to absorb shots from soft balls and hard balls.
Swing for the Fences
The person standing in the batting cage wears a helmet and has pitches thrown at them by a another person, or they get propelled by a pneumatic machine. As the pitches come in, they simply just swing and try to make clean hits. The balls get hit directly into the net or out onto the filed. They are then picked back up for the next round of hitting.
Economy of Effort
Batting cages are designed for a single person to get a maximal amount of practice hitting in a longer period of time. The whole idea is for the net to keep balls contained to a designated area instead of being hit all over the field. This allows for quicker clean-up and more practice time being achieved.
Stand Please
Batting cages are mobile and can be set up in a matter of minutes. The cage is a long tunnel with a half circle or square shape to it. They are relatively easy to set and can take under an hour with 2 people. The only tools required are a wrench and a step ladder. The frames are made out of steel or fiberglass and are assembled on the ground, then lifted into position. The netting is then draped over top, and it's then ready to roll.
Batting cages usually range in width and height. They can be anywhere from 10 to 18 feet either way. As far as the depth goes, they can be 12 for a smaller version and go all the way up to 70 feet for the long tunnel versions.
For Public Use Only
There is another type of batting cage that is often found at outdoor and indoor amusement parks. It features a huge screened in area. This area keeps the balls contained with a pitching machine and a series of batting cages lined up side by side. The cages themselves are enclosed on the sides and back with the front being open. They are generally 10 feet deep and can range in width and height from 10 to 14 feet. There is a conveyor belt behind the pitching machine that collects the hit balls and filters them back to be re-pitched. Batters either pay for tokens to buy a certain amount of balls, or they rent the cage for a time period.
Enclosed Backstop
There is another style of batting cage that is set up around the home plate area on a baseball field. This is a backstop version. They are either expandable or are designed on wheels for easy transport and set up. They range in size from 11 to 14 feet high, 12 to 22 feet deep and 16 to 18 feet wide with a square or rounded opening. The enclosure is made out of steel or aluminum piping, and there is either a net or metal fencing over top of it. This type of cage is favored by high school teams, colleges and pros where the batter is pitched to and hits out to the fielders. The cage acts more as a backstop to avoid having to chase down passed and foul balls.
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