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wildfatcat
4 Posts |
 Posted - 06/07/2010 : 18:12:20
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| Go to youtube and search flyball 500. I was skeptical myself, but my friend from Ohio bought one and swore by it. I got one and took it down to our park and tried it out. I'm 41 years old and can barely touch 60 with a fastball, but I can THROW towering fly balls over a 260' fence with this thing. You can stand an outfielder 180-200' away and throw major league fly balls within 5' of him every time. I threw well over 200 balls in the past hour or so and can't really feel it at all in my arm. For coaches trying to teach younger kids how to catch a fly ball this thing is unreal. You can also throw pinpoint grounders with no trouble. Every youth coach should have one! |
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in_the_know
985 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2010 : 22:47:14
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| This is the same thing as the "Chuck It" that I've been using to throw tennis balls 50+ yards to my dog for years. You can buy a Chuck It at Petsmart or Petco. I've never tried it with a baseball. I'll give it a try this weekend and report back. |
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jongamefan
218 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2010 : 10:12:32
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Please do
This caught my eye for nephewes team coach who cant hit a ball to save a live
Interested how accurate can it be and how far can you go with an official sized baseball
quote:
Originally posted by in_the_know
This is the same thing as the "Chuck It" that I've been using to throw tennis balls 50+ yards to my dog for years. You can buy a Chuck It at Petsmart or Petco. I've never tried it with a baseball. I'll give it a try this weekend and report back.
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wildfatcat
4 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2010 : 10:52:23
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| A baseball doesn't fit in the dog toy |
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canofworms
3 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2010 : 13:05:56
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| Out of curiosity I emailed the company about the ball and they responded "The Flyball 500 is specifically designed for a regulation sized baseball. It is however packaged with a rubber baseball for safety reasons." I've seen the Chuck It before and it can only throw a tennis ball. I went ahead and ordered one to try out (pretty inexpensive)I'll let you guys know if its any good. |
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Hurricane
351 Posts |
Posted - 06/10/2010 : 09:00:09
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| All I can say is there is an art to reading the baseball off of a baseball bat. The ball comes off the bat differently from right handed and left handed hitters, you also have to play the ball differently in left field center field and right field. I doubt this machine will give you that look, now if you are just trying to find something for younger players say 8 and under to get them some high balls I think it would be great. |
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canofworms
3 Posts |
Posted - 06/10/2010 : 11:01:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Hurricane
All I can say is there is an art to reading the baseball off of a baseball bat. The ball comes off the bat differently from right handed and left handed hitters, you also have to play the ball differently in left field center field and right field. I doubt this machine will give you that look, now if you are just trying to find something for younger players say 8 and under to get them some high balls I think it would be great.
I agree with you but like jongamefan said a lot of coaches can't hit the ball consistently to the outfield. I know I can only hit a good fly ball maybe 1 out of 5 times which isn't doing the kids any good when they need solid reps. But this product might not be very good I guess I'll see in a couple days. |
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zwndad
170 Posts |
Posted - 06/10/2010 : 14:18:43
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| Ordered one. I'll report back. I have an infielder who needs to be able to play the outfield for high school. You're right about the ball coming off the bat, but if I can give him some consistent fly balls, I'll take the reps over the bat off the ball ... at least as a starting point. |
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canofworms
3 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2010 : 12:36:08
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| I got my Flyball 500 on Saturday and took it out with my boy. It preformed well, it launched the ball high and decently far (about 200-220 feet). It was very accurate, I could place the ball wherever I wanted. The thing that impressed me the most were the infield pop ups. I liked how you can throw pop ups straight up to a catcher who can practice getting out of the crouch and locating the ball quickly. It is very easy to use, my wife who is very athletically challenged could even use it. Overall its a very good product and I recommend this to coaches and parents of kids 8-13, or anyone who can't hit fly balls well. |
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baseballinsider
9 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2010 : 21:33:52
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| I agree with Hurricane. The outfielder has to be able to read the ball well to catch it anywhere in the outfield. Seeing the ball come off the bat and knowing where it is going is a big plus for a center fielder,for any outfielder. I have seen many outfielders misjudge the ball over there head or down right miss it.From 6yrs up you got to catch fly balls. I have seen some phenomanial catches here lately in the outfield. |
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wildfatcat
4 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2010 : 00:05:28
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| Questions for you "read the ball off the bat guys". Does the ball really come off the bat the same when a person throws the ball straight up to himself as it does when there is a pitcher throwing it? What about the 98% of dad/coaches of youth league teams that hit grounders, line drives and pop ups a heck of a lot more than they hit good fly balls? I don't know what your rate of success is but I would rather have my kids field good fly ball 100% of the time as apposed to 10% of the time. |
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