3-Wheel Pitching Machines

[Westwind]

Hmmm...I see that now. They didn't use to be. I worked full teams in the cage and we hit them a couple times a week. We only had one that split. I still plan on hitting them again this winter. I guess it's now a "hit at your own risk" situation.

I can picture that.

I’m such a geek I actually practice various pitches with the machine just to make sure I’m doing it right/safe. I would definitely do that in this case.

 

[Westwind]

One more question: looks like you set the machine up for a middle pitch and then you can safely throw breaking balls to both sides of the plate without moving the machine? Just feed them different?

@Coach Foster I apologize, I edited after you responded.

I won’t ask anymore questions after this, I promise, lol!

 

[Coach Foster]

@Coach Foster I apologize, I edited after you responded.

I won’t ask anymore questions after this, I promise, lol!

lol...all good, ask any you have!

Yep, you got it. The balls will break the opposite direction of the channels on the ball. You'll have to find the sweet spot for rise and drop, depending on how far you are throwing them from, but it's easy to get the feel.

 

[Fastpitch86]

When you consider the pitchers stride and release point, you are at about the right distance. Most pitchers stride around 3/4 of their height. So really, you are still replicating a 60 mph pitcher which is adequate for most conferences. (And high school.) If your dd sees faster pitching from more than one team in the conference or makes it deep into the NCAA tournament, it may not be the machine to buy.

After having both the Jr. and the I-Hack, the Jr. isn’t even in the same room. It isn’t just the size of the motors, it’s the size of the wheels. It’s quieter, recovers faster. Because it’s heavier, it isn’t moving around on the floor. The I-Hack changes speeds and to me, that is worth its weight in gold. It is very challenging.

Its heavy. 145 pounds vs the 75 pound jr. I’m over 6’ and around 200 but I wouldn’t want to have to put it in the back of a 4wd truck by myself on a regular basis. My back sucks. But if my dd or wife were there it would be a piece of cake. And if I had something lower like a mini van, it would be pretty easy.

DD’s hitting coach uses my old Jr. He has taken the legs off it so it’s even lower. He throws foam balls and dimple balls out of it really slow and maybe 20’. Dude is brilliant, he’s doing stuff I wouldn’t dream of for reasons I don’t understand. He works with a bunch of high performing college teams and it shows in their performance.

IDK- I think when kids are younger, they don’t consider that with any luck, the player will often outgrow what they are doing early on. I would have been better off to go big early.

ETA- all of my comments are based on this from the O.P.

Currently have two DD's (16U/18U) playing very competitive travel ball, one is power hitting and the other is a slapper. Both have committed to D1 college programs.

O.P. could be using this machine for 5-6 years, yes

Thanks for the info!

 

[Fastpitch86]

We've had the Hack Jr for a few years, and would echo a lot of what Long Baller posted. It's fine for what we use it for...mostly indoor hitting, when we aren't throwing front toss. We'll use it for some I/O as well, on the field.

Do you already have a machine, and are looking for something that throws movement pitches? If so, I'd recommend the multi-curve machine balls by JZ Sports. Jazmine has put out a good product. We hit a ton of them last winter, and they held up well. Plus you can give your catchers some good work with them.

No I do not have any machine. Was looking to get a machine to use during winter break and over the summer. We do a lot of tee work and front too, just looking to supplement with different pitches. I never heard of those multi curve balls will check them out thanks.

 

[Fastpitch86]

Appreciate all the comments. Are there any other brands of 3-wheel pitching machines out there, good or bad?

 

[Fastpitch86]

@Coach Foster A lot of them are marked “catching only”?

One more question: looks like you set the machine up for a middle pitch and then you can safely throw breaking balls to both sides of the plate without moving the machine? Just feed them different?

I looked into these balls and was thinking the same thing, line up down the middle and feed the balls into machine as instructed on their website. I'd like to see video of using these balls in a Jugs machine since that is the only pitching machine we currently have access to.

 

[Fastpitch86]

Can anybody comment how the company ships a hack attack? Can they deliver to residential address?

 

[Lemond]

i was wondering the same thing yesterday. Give them a call.

 

[Westwind]

Hack Attack shipped on a pallet to a freight dock when I bought one direct from company. They slid it into my pickup truck with a fork lift. For me it was pretty easy, but I know not everyone has a truck.

Might be a dealer in your area though.