What Is The Best Pitching Machine For The Money?
As I’m sure many of you know, incorporating the use of a pitching machine into your practice sessions can be a great way of developing and improving batting skills. It can also be a big relief for coaches and parents with “dead arm syndrome.”
In this article, I will introduce you to my top pick of pitching machines that gives you the absolute most bang for your hard earned buck.
Having raised 4 kids who have played, and are still playing baseball and softball for most of their lives, I know how important it is to keep a close eye on your budget.
So without further ado, let’s jump right in.
What I considered when choosing the best pitching machine for the money
Versatility, without a doubt, was my main objective. Here are the features I was looking for.
Baseball/softball
When I first started out on this journey, my hopes were that I could find a pitching machine that not only fit my needs for baseball, but also for softball.
While my daughter started out her playing career in baseball, she eventually moved on to softball.
So naturally, I wanted a machine that could simulate an underhand pitch.
When I first started my vigorous research, I quickly found out that a machine that could accomplish this goal could get quite pricey.
Right and left hand pitch
While I happen to pitch right handed, what I have discovered throughout the years was that my kids and the players I coached would often times struggle when facing a left handed pitcher.
When I searched out machines that could perform the task of pitching from both sides, the choices were very limited and yes, expensive.
Speed variation/pitch location
Another feature I was hoping to attain, was quick and easy speed and location adjustments.
While seeing the same speed over and over again is a great way to get young players comfortable in the batter’s box, as they progress to higher levels, pitchers are going to start changing speeds and locations.
With some of the more expensive pitching machines, this can be a time consuming task given their weight and bulkiness.
I wanted a machine that I could make quick adjustments with.
I wasn’t necessarily looking for a machine that could throw 110 mph, but at the same time, I wanted one that could at least simulate 80 or more.
Fielding practice
Many manufacturers put a lot of time and effort into producing pitching machines that can pitch.
Me being the picky person that I am, wanted a machine that could not only give me consistent pitching, I wanted to find one that could give me the option to simulate fly balls and grounders as well.
Pitch variation
While the idea of having nothing but fastballs thrown at you is a great way to develop confidence in beginners, as they get older they will start to see different pitches.
I really wanted to find a pitching machine that could not only deliver consistent fastballs, I wanted one that could also throw curve balls and sliders too (the two most common breaking pitches).
As pitchers get older and develop different pitches, it’s important that batters learn how to hit them. While I can still throw a pretty decent curve, my consistency leaves something to be desired.
Finding a pitching machine that could deliver good pitch variation was important to me.
Go anywhere, any time
While having a pitching machine of my own was an awesome idea, the thought of having a power supply wherever I wanted to set up presented a big problem. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t found many ball fields that have an outlet set up to plug in a pitching machine.
So I searched for one that gave me the ability to go cordless. Adding a battery pack was well worth it to me.
Safety
With the goal of safety in mind, as it always should be, I was willing to sacrifice for a machine that didn’t pitch real baseballs.
One surefire way to destroy a young batters confidence is to get hit by a baseball one too many times.
While I was willing to sacrifice on this point, I wanted to find a machine that may not hurt as much when you get hit, but would give you the same feel you get when you make contact with the ball.
Price
Last, but most certainly not least, is the price.
Yes, I know that seeking all of the above mentioned abilities may sound a little picky, but it’s our hard earned money that is going to be used to make the purchase!
My original goal was to find a pitching machine that met each goal above and still be under $1,000.
What I found was that there were actually many machines to be had at this price level.
What I also found is that most, if not all, were lacking in some of the features that I was looking for.
O.K., we get it! So what is the best pitching machine for the money?
The pitching machine that I went with is the Jugs Lite-Flite Pitching Machine.
The Jugs Lite-Flite was not only able to do everything that I had hoped for, it was able to save me a lot of money.
Not only with the price of the unit itself, but also with the money it has saved us with the weekly trips to the batting cages.
When I sat down and added up the cost of the cages vs the cost of the machine, making the purchase became a 
no-brainer. Not only did skipping the cages for a few months pay for the price of the unit, I quickly discovered how much more fun we could have.
-
-
- No more time limits
- No more waiting
- Practice whenever, however and wherever we wanted
- No more “same pitch” time after time
-
With all of the features and awesome price, the Lite-Flite from Jugs is without a doubt the best pitching machine you are going to find for the money.
There is simply no other machine that can come close to giving you everything I mentioned above. If you feel that you absolutely must have a machine that pitches real baseballs and still offers all of these features, don’t be surprised to find out that it’s going to cost you an arm, and possibly 2 legs…
If this sounds like the kind of pitching machine you have been searching for, you can read my full overview here for all of the specific details and a video of the Lite-Flite in action.
Or, if you are tired of reading and are ready to get it now, click the link below for the best price.
I hope you found this article helpful. If you have any other questions or concerns about what is the best pitching machine for the money, please leave a comment below and I will be happy to assist any way I can.
Thanks for stopping by ~Jeremy
