 - Balls automatically pop-up from the base, one after another
- Pitches balls up to 10 feet
- Hit from a tee or from pop-up pitch
- Includes battery-powered trainer, bat and 3 balls
- Recommended age range 3 years and up
Lowest Price: $21.79 
Product Description: Learn to hit like a pro. There are three ways to play with Triple Hit Baseball, so anyone can learn. Beginners can hit from the tee to teach hand-eye coordination. In Rookie mode, balls pop up automatically, one after another. In pro mode, balls will be pitched automatically from up to 10' away. Includes battery-powered trainer, bat and three balls. Adult assembly required. Requires 4 "D" batteries (not included). Editorial Review: A reasonable gripe against a great number of sporting good themed toys has been their lack of versatility. Once a kid has surpassed the skill level engendered by the toy, the toy is pretty much useless, offering no further challenge to the burgeoning athlete. The Grow To Pro series, on the other hand, evolves with the kid presenting increasing challenges along the way. In this three level baseball training set, young kids can practice first hitting the ball off of a tee to build fundamental coordination skills. Then on the "rookie" level, the ball pops up from ground level as kids practice smacking the ball out of the air. Finally, the "pro" level is a pitching machine, lobbing the ball without a prohibitive amount of velocity, to the batter standing up to ten feet away. Four D batteries are required but not included. --Charlie Williams Customer Reviews: Rating: 
Date: 2008-04-21
Can't be beat for the price, but not a perfect toy.
Okay, I'm a huge fan of this because it has a tee and adjustable position launcher, and it's cheap. However, it isn't perfect.
1) It uses batteries, and that's fine. However, it will only spin up the motor for about four pitches before it spins down. This preserves battery life (you need time to collect balls, reload) but doesn't work if you have a bucket of plastic balls. You need to keep pressing the start button. I'll be converting this to AC power at some point and overriding the timeout.
2) It ships with really nice soft balls, which are useless in reality because you will lose them. Better to go to a local store and buy an eight-pack of cheap plastic practice balls. I can get them for two bucks and buy a few packs, load up the machine, and go. If they get lost, so what? I have twenty-four of them.
3) The tee breaks away, which is probably good for now but eventually will no longer stay attached. The tip should flex more so it won't break away. Duct tape can help me here.
4) It lacks a guide to force it along a path, so lighter balls can sometimes fly out high. It was probably designed for the pillow-balls that shipped, but a guide would keep the path predictable.
Ultimately, how did my boy like it? My son loves it. I've been pitching to him for a year or so now, and now his mom can finally get the pitches right where they need to be without figuring out his strike zone. The neighborhood kids all give it a thumbs-up, too, so that's ten "yes" votes right there.
-C
Rating: 
Date: 2008-01-01
Learning to bat
This product is fun for the entire family. My son can use the T-ball set-up and my daughter can use the pitch option. We have had a blast using it. Our kids would have us pitch to them all day if we would let them - this product makes us all happy. Rating:
Date: 2007-09-21
Great Toy
I bought this for my 4 year old son - who loves it - but surprisingly my 9 year old daughter does poorly in gym fights with her brother to play with it - and she hit a ball over the 6' fence in our yard - out to the street - maybe her gym grade will go up. Rating:
Date: 2007-09-14
Great Toy; Great Value
I was excited about this toy for my grandson's 5th birthday and was not disappointed! It is easy to use,easy to store and my grandson his improving his skills. He even discovered that not only could he hit the ball from the 3 positions but he could also use it to shoot balls to himself to practice catching. Great toy; great value! I was concerned that it might be too advanced for a 5 year old but my concerns were unwarranted! This is a 5 star toy. Rating:
Date: 2007-07-02
Takes a beating, very durable!
In response to the person who wondered how this toy would hold up if used outdoors, I can tell you that we used ours all last summer, then left it outside through a New England winter, and it still works perfectly. In fact, even the batteries still worked from last year! It goes without saying that as my little ones learn to hit, they spend a lot of time whacking the machine, instead of the ball. Both the bat and the base have held up great. The 3 different options are great for my 4,3,and 2 year olds' different abilities. We couldn't be happier with this toy (except that it DOES need to come with more balls, since our 2 retrievers are certain this toy is for their entertainment!) |
