When you want to practice your baseball swings but you don’t have a big enough patio to fit backyard batting cages or don’t have enough money to hook up your pad with a home batting cage there is no better option than heading out to some commercial batting cages. For a relatively low cost a batting cage can help you practice your swing, supply you with an infinite amount of baseballs, and give you a fun opportunity to hang out with your baseball loving friends.
If, whether for practice or just to have a good time, you have decided to make a trip out to your local batting cage to hit some balls you are going to need to bring along a few things. Some batting cages will supply you with the essential equipment and almost all batting cages will provide the baseballs for you but you can never be too safe when it comes to these sorts of things.
There are four essential items you cannot forget to bring to the batting cage. If you misplace even one of these items and the batting cage business doesn’t have any to spare you are going to ruin your trip and be forced to return home.
A Helmet:
Most batting cages these days are equipped with mechanical pitchers. These machines can pitch a baseball at you consistently over 70MPH so taking one to the bare noggin is not a good idea. You should always bring your own helmet to a batting cage, even though some places will have some to borrow, because you will be sure to have one that fits, feels good, and won’t give you head lice.
If you don’t already own a helmet for batting practice you can stop by any baseball supply store, some batting cages even have one connected, and pick one up. Make sure that the helmet fits snug on your skull because the last thing you want is for a machine slung fast ball to hit you in the temple.
Your Bat:
It might be obvious to the skilled baseball player but it seems like so many people forget to bring a baseball bat to the batting cages. For some reason most people think that a batting cage must automatically supply baseball bats to its patrons but this just isn’t the case.
Cheap batting cages may only have the cages and the balls and maybe one or two baseball bats. They are never going to have high quality bats and they are never going to have the exact bat you use during a game. If you want to want to get the most out of your practice time you should always practice with the baseball bat that you are going to use during a live game; so make sure to bring yours along!
Some Shin Guards:
Baseball isn’t known for its protective padding but there is one piece no batter should live without. Shin guards are essential batting cage equipment because you are dealing with a high speed mechanical pitcher who cannot be trusted to always throw to your outside. If you take a fast ball to your bare shin you are going to feel it and it won’t feel good. Protect your bones by wearing the proper gear.
Friends and Teammates:
Going to the batting cages should be a fun experience, never a drag. To heighten the fun aspects of the cages you should bring a few friends along and make a day out of it. If you play with a group of people regularly you should invite the whole team to come out with you and practice their hitting. Not only will you have a blast hitting balls and chatting with your buddies but you will also improve the skill level of your team as a whole.