Batting Cage Users Guide: What is a Heater Pitching Machine?

Baseball Batting Cage Blog for Batting Cage Owners

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

What is a Heater Pitching Machine?

What is a Heater Pitching Machine?
By Ray B Spencer

Maybe this is a new term for you; it was for me. A heater pitching machine is a device that is designed for baseball batting practice. This pitches balls to the batter. (In baseball jargon a "heater" is a fast ball.) So, as its name describes, this is a machine that pitches fastballs to a batter. There are several kinds of these machines.

An important feature to consider is how many pitching wheels it has. Many of the smaller pitching machines have two wheels. While some of the larger more expensive units have 3 wheels. These wheels are what throw the baseball. With only two wheels speed and accuracy is lower. But with three wheels both speed and accuracy are improved.

One company that makes a line of these machines called "Heater" has several models available. One of the their products is called the "Heater Baseball Pitching Machine." This throws pitches between 15 miles per hour (MPH) and 50 MPH. This is a two wheel feed machine that can hold 12 baseballs at a time. This cost about $400.

The next machine up is the "Heater Combo Pitching Machine" it throws baseballs up to 60 MPH. It also holds 12 baseballs. It pitches a ball every 12 second. In addition to batting practice this can be used to practice fly balls and grounders. This cost about $600. They also have another machine the, "Deuce Pitching Machine." This machine is more advanced than the previous two, offering higher pitching speed and more features. The price for it is about $800. All three of these machines are portable.

As an example of a top-of-the-line heater pitching machine, consider one named the "HomePlate" machine. This machine can pitch baseballs from 40 to 90 MPH. This machine has a three wheel feed system, making the pitches more accurate. The machine can be programmed in several different ways. A person can program it to throw curve balls, sliders, straight fast balls, and sinking fast balls. The speed can be programmed to adjust up or down in 5mph increments. There are a lot of possibilities that can be programmed into this machine, to give a batter many different challenging pitches. This machine holds 80 balls. Empty the machine weighs 180 pounds. So, it is not as portable as others. The price is about $6,600. So, the price is not as palatable as others either.

So, that is what a heater pitching machine is. Choosing the one that is right for you is a completely different subject.

Interested in learning more? Read more detailed writings about Heater Pitching Machine right now. Visit our site for lots of great Heater Pitching Machine Information.

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