A baseball can be a dangerous thing. They sometimes break windows and eye sockets. And since this damage can happen during a baseball game, think of all the destruction baseballs can cause during practice, when multiple balls being used in multiple drills are flying all over the place

Luckily, we have baseball nets. During baseball drills baseball nets preserve windows and eye sockets and also keep all those baseballs close so practice can be a time to learn new skills instead of combing the area for wayward balls.

Here is a list of four different types of baseball nets that can make any baseball practice safer and more efficient. You should be able to find these products on the websites of eRetailers such as Amazon or Dicks, or at your local sporting goods store.

Bownet Baseball/Softball Big Mouth Portable Net $150 to $200
Weighing in at only 13 pounds, this may the gold standard of portable but effective baseball nets. Its rigid fiberglass and steel poles and super-strong netting allows ball after to ball to be pounded into it at close range, whether off of a bat or from the arm of a fireballing pitcher. The “mouth” feature of the net takes up more than half of the total area and will capture most balls hit into it. The Bownet Big Mouth requires no screws, snaps or tools for assembly, and those who have purchased it confirm it only takes about two minutes to set up. There are some complaints about its ability to function in very windy conditions, but other than that this product gets extremely high ratings.

Franklin Sports MLB Deluxe Infinite Angle Return Trainer $80
Some baseball nets aren’t just about catching balls. They are also about bouncing them back. The Franklin Sports MLB Deluxe Infinite Angle Return Trainer’s tubular steel construction and reinforced bungee net adjustment system will fire either pop ups, line drives or ground balls back to whomever throws them at it. The product features a heavy duty 30-ply net that is designed for all weather and a demarcated strike zone target. The MLB Deluxe a has simple two fold set up design which makes for easy assembly and storage. It will also work for lacrosse.

SKLZ Quickster Net – Portable Quick Assembly Multi-Sport Net $150
Even better than just a baseball net is a multi-sport net that can be used for drills and practice whatever the sporting season. The SKLZ Quickster Net has all of the qualities of a great baseball net: durable easy to assemble design; a mouth that captures balls; and a movable pitching target. But it is also specially designed so it works for practicing football, softball, lacrosse and soccer. With strong ply-netting that can withstand year-round use, this product may well be the first step toward making your burgeoning athlete the next Bo Jackson.

ATEC Pro Pitcher’s Practice Screen with Stand $150
This pitcher’s oriented practice net will have a young hurler moving the ball around the strike zone with the accuracy of a Cliff Lee. That’s because the screen features six highly visible targets around the corners of the strike zone for the pitcher to aim at. The ATEC Practice Screen With Stand also has a built in ball collector that will swope up any pitch that hits the strike zone. (More incentive to be accurate.) This easy to assemble product comes with a stand but can also be set up without one. Its heavy duty tarpaulin is double stitched for long-life and when the screen isn’t being used for pitching practice it is very effective as a portable backstop for hitting. The Practice Screen gets high marks from those who bought it on both ease of assembly and effectiveness.

Baseball savings is an online one-stop shop for baseball equipment and apparel. It was founded in 2006 and its mailing address is in Wichita, Kansas, where they also have one retail store there. Baseball Savings is the number one baseball only retailer on the Internet.

Baseball Saving is famous for guaranteeing the lowest price on any baseball bat. If you find a lower price on any bat Baseball Savings carries, they will match the price.

According to Baseball Savings they also have the widest selection of bats on the Internet. These include Easton, DeMARINI, Marucci, Mizuno, Louisville Slugger, Nike, Rawlings, RIP-IT, Miken, Anderson, Mattingly and Reebok. The also have every kind of bat from wood to composite to fungo to fast pitch softball to custom. One of the neat things about Baseball Savings website is that there is a an easy to use function which displays bats by association regulations.

So if, for example, your league is under the ASA umbrella you can just click on ASA and see all the bats that meet that association’s standards. This is also a separate section for BBCOR bats, which are used in college and high school baseball and always feature -three drops. (The drop is difference between the bat’s length in inches and weight in ounces.)

When you click on an individual bat Baseball Saving’s website will give you a bullet point list of all the bat’s features which would include what material the bat is made of, its specs and any warranty information.

Of course Baseball savings is about more than just bats. They sell just about any piece equipment that a baseball player would need, including the field equipment that builds and keeps the diamond in shape. The websites also feature just about any item of NCAA or Major League baseball apparel that a fan would want. Additionally the online market place offers a custom logo service that would be great for corporations, charities and events.

If you are in any way dissatisfied with any product you purchase from Baseball Savings you can get a hundred percent refund as long as you return it within a thirty day period and the product is still in its original packaging and in “new, unused and original” condition. The shipping fee, however, is non-refundable. Custom orders, closeouts, demo items and personalized items or not eligible for this refund.

Orders to Baseball Savings can either be done through their website or over the phone. Baseball Savings offers a $6.99 flat rate standard shipping fee. (It is two dollars more for delivery to “rural” areas, seven to fifteen dollars more to ship to Alaska and three to five dollars more to send something to Hawaii.) Next business day shipping is $22.99, and second day is $14.99.

These shipping prices only apply to orders under seventy five pounds. Saturday and Sunday don’t count as shipping days and any order received after noon on Friday will go out on Sunday.

Baseball Savings only charges sales tax when shipping to Kansas, California or Washington State. However your state my require you to report your purchase and then pay the appropriate sales tax on it.

All of the baseballs used in a Major League game are made in a single factory in the Costa Rican town of Turrialba. It’s been that way since the the late ‘80s when Rawlings, the official ball maker of Major League Baseball, moved production to the Central American nation from Haiti, which was suffering government unrest.

The 350 workers at the Turrialba plant work ten hours a day and turn out about 2.4 million baseballs a year. They make $1.60 an hour, above minimum wage in Costa Rica, and get a 52 cent bonus for every ball they complete beyond their 156 ball weekly minimum. Since baseball isn’t very popular in Costa Rica few of the workers know much about the game they are creating essential equipment for. Upon completion the balls are shipped to Miami and then to Major League Baseball stadiums across the country.

Major League baseball has tried to maintain consistency in their baseball construction since 1872. However it wasn’t until 1910, when the cork centered ball was introduced ,that they have achieved any sort of real uniformity through time. Although production methods differ, a ball today should be pretty similar to one made a hundred years ago.

These days, a Major League baseball begins with the “pill,” which is a 4.25 inch golf ball-sized sphere of cork encased in rubber. The process of making a big league ball begins when hundreds of these pills are dumped into a rotating tumbler and covered with latex adhesive. The drum spins to evenly coat the pills with the latex and when that process is complete the pills are sticky to the touch.

Next comes a machine which spins four ply wool around the pill, making the ball substantially larger. After this come a layer of three ply wool and then another layer of three ply yarn, this one a bit lighter than the second.

All this wool yarn gives the baseball resiliency so it can spring back to shape after being smacked repeatedly with a bat. The last layer of wool is lighter, smoother poly-wool blend. Overall about 370 yards of yarn go into a baseball.

This wool rubber and cork sphere is called the “center” and it measures about nine inches around. The center is also placed in a tumbler with adhesive rubber to make sure all the wound yarn sticks together. When the tumbler is done spinner the center is air dried for 48 hours but remains sticky.

Next figure-eight shaped cuts of leather are punched out using a wedged press that also gives them holes for stitching. These chunks of Tennessee Holstein cowhide will eventually be the outside of the baseball

However before stitching takes place the date and lot number is stamped onto the leather figure eights and they are wrapped in wet towels to make them pliable enough to sow. Next an adhesive is rolled onto one side of the cowhide cutouts.

When two cutouts are positioned on the center’s sticky surface they should provide full coverage and create what is finally starting to look like a baseball.

Next comes the most labor intensive part of the process: The stitching. The sowing begins when the now-leather clad center is put in a vice. The sower diligently uses two needles to hook the leather unto the wool center and also to cross stitch. During the process wax is rubbed onto the stitching to keep it from tangling. Each ball has exactly 108 stitches and will be between nine and nine ¼ inches in circumference.. Lastly, the balls go through a press that smooths down the seams and a three-headed stamp which gives the official baseballs a trademark, a commissioner’s signature, and a league logo.

The entire process takes a week. The average Major League Baseball lasts a few pitches. You can buy one for $13.95.

Baseball is simple game. Pitch the ball. Hit the ball. Catch the ball. Throw the ball. But mastering baseball is not as simple as it seems. It is a competitive sport and everybody is trying to be the best so they can make their high school team, then snag a college scholarship and finally live the dream of being a millionaire pro athlete with their face on a baseball card.

Which means the aspiring ball player needs to get any edge he can. Baseball training aids can improve a player’s chance at greatness by honing their skills. Here is a list of baseball training aids that have proven to be beneficial in player development. Some you will recognize and others you may be learning about for the first time. They should all be available for purchase either online or at your local sporting goods store. (Make sure to comparison shop for price before you buy.)

Baseball nets
Baseball netting — netting inside a solid frame — is used for various practice purposes. Batters can hit balls into them, either from soft toss or from a tee. Pitchers can pitch into them to hone their technique and location. Fielders can use “return” netting to practice their fielding. They can also be used as portable backstops during live pitching practice. While some baseball nets serve all of these purposes, others are more specialized.

Baseball Tee
No tees aren’t just for tee-ball. The are also an important baseball training aid. By having older hitters use a tee coaches can work on their swing in a controlled environment.

Pitching machines
These automated ball throwing devices allow players to train without a coach or pitching. The more advanced ones can also throw the type of pitches a player might face in games but are difficult to produce on demand in practice. Pitching machines can be quite expensive although you can find more rudimentary models for less than 100 bucks.

Fielding machines
Cousin to pitching machines. (In fact most pitching machines can be used as fielding machines.) They fire off grounders, line drives and pop ups for players to practice their fielding.

Fungo Bats
A fungo bat is a specially designed bat for a coach to use as he self hits balls to fielders during defensive drills and warm ups. Because it’s lightweight the fungo bat has excellent control. Nobody really knows why it has such a ridiculous name.

Reaction ball
A reaction ball is a six sided rubber ball that bounces unpredictably when thrown against the ground. This helps baseball players with their defensive reactions and develops hand-to-eye coordination.

Batting trainer
A batting trainer is a tee-like base with an arm coming off of it. A baseball ix connected at the end of the arm. With the baseball hanging over the plate the batter swings at it with his bat. Batting trainers can be adjusted to different resistance levels and some can simulate pitches. They are mainly used to work on bat speed.

Radar guns
Used to record pitching speeds. There are also baseball with built in radar records but they tend not to be as accurate.

Bungee based hitting tools.
This is a ball with straps through the middle that is propelled toward the batter while the strap is both anchored to the ground and being held by the coach. Since the ball remains attached it it stays close after the batter strikes it. It can also be easily manipulated to “throw” pitches like curveballs.

Arm resistance trainer
A baseball attached to a bungee with a hooking device on the other end. Used to develop wrist, rotator cuff, shoulder and forearm strength in pitchers.

One handed training bat
At about two-thirds the length and weight of a full-sized bat, this training aid can be used to work exclusively on either your top or bottom hand during soft toss drills.

Agility ladders/trainers
Not baseball exclusive, but a useful hardball training aid.

Pitch counter
Device used to count pitches. Usually comes with more than one counter to track multiple pitchers (or home and away) at once.

Major League baseballs weigh between five and five and a quarter ounces. Weighted baseball weigh between six and twelve ounces and are generally sold in sets of between three and six (of differing weights.)

Weighted baseballs are used to build arm strength and work on pitching mechanics. They are also somewhat controversial, with concerns that they can hurt a pitcher’s arm.

However most experts seem to agree that weighted baseball are safe for adults or older teenagers to use, as long as you follow certain precautions.

It is not recommended that Little Leaguers or younger teens use weighted baseball. Maybe a thirteen or fourteen year old who has already had their arm built up substantially, but even that could be risky.

For older players, however, they should be OK. A football weighs three times as much as a regular baseball (and more than most weighted baseballs) and the shoulders of quarterbacks tend to survive throwing the ball over and over again.

Nevertheless, a weighted baseball should never be thrown off of a mound or used for long toss. It’s also not a good idea to use them to play catch because that’s how people get hurt. But drills in which baseball are tossed into nets six to eight feet in front of the pitcher can do wonders to improve a pitcher’s fastball. Some pitchers have reported gaining five to six miles per hour on their speedball after a year of training with weighted balls. And that could very well be the difference between a minor leaguer and a Major Leaguer and the tens millions of dollars a player can accumulate over a career if they make that jump.

There have been two major studies on weighted baseball. The first, published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: Vol. 8, No. 4, divided 225 high school and college pitchers into three groups. Two of which trained with six ounces weighted balls (but used different training methods) and a control group that used regular balls. The researchers found, after ten weeks of training, the pitchers in the weighted ball groups had an average increase in velocity that was statistically significantly higher than the hurlers in the control group.

The second study, also published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, used thirty high school pitchers and divided them into three groups: one that trained with weighed six ounce balls, one that trained with under weighted four ounce balls and a control group. It found that the groups training with overweight and underweight balls had velocity gains beyond the control group. This suggests it may be variation in weight, rather than overall weight, which yields results.

It is also important to note that both of these studies used six ounces balls, whereas most commercially available weighted ball sets feature much heavier balls. Remember a six ounce ball weighs twenty percent more than a five ounce official ball — which is quite significant even though one ounce doesn’t sound like a lot.

Sets of weighted baseballs generally run between twenty and thirty dollars. You can buy them at your local sporting good store and most online baseball retailers.

Baseball Warehouse is an online retailer and one stop shop for all of your baseball needs. Baseball Warehouse offers baseball bats, wood baseball bats, baseball gloves, baseball bags, batting helmets, catcher’s gear, custom colors, pitching machines, baseball training aids, baseball clothes, baseball accessories, protective equipment, sunglasses and even umpire gear.

Based out of Columbus, Ohio, Baseball Warehouse has been selling online since the company’s founding in 1996. Because they only sell baseball goods their customer service staff is especially in tune to the needs of the hardball player. They also boast exclusive deals to buy direct from manufacturers like Easton, Rawlings, Under Armour, Minuzzo, Wilson and Louisville Slugger. This, they argue, allows them to offer customers the best price and widest selection possible. On their website, Baseball Warehouse advertises their prices as “up to 50 percent off of MSRP.” (Manufacturer’s suggested retail price.)

On top of that, Baseball Warehouse often runs promotion in which a further 10 or 20 percent are discounted. Before purchasing a good from Baseball Warehouse make sure you Google “Baseball Warehouse Promo code” or “Baseball Warehouse discount” to see if you can find additional savings online. (This is good advice for any of your online purchases.)

Baseball Warehouse accepts Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express and Paypal.

While it doesn’t take a lot of tech savvy to order from their site, Baseball Warehouse also has customer service representatives that can take your order over the phone Monday through Friday between 10 AM and 7 PM Eastern Time. For those who don’t want their orders tracked through the phone or the internet for some reason, Baseball Warehouse features a printable order form that can be mailed in. Through this method you can also pay by check or money order. Baseball Warehouse does not accept cash.

Baseball Warehouse offers a 30 day “no sweat” guarantee which buyers can return any product that doesn’t meet their satisfaction for a “full” refund and return shipping. There is a 20 percent restocking fee for returned items but it is waived if you take the refund in store credit. You don’t have to use store credit immediately.

Baseball Warehouse offers free ground shipping on orders over $99 and all orders received by 3 PM EST standing time are shipped within one business day. Orders can be tracked through the website’s online fulfillment center.

Among the competitors to Baseball Warehouse would be other online baseball specialty sites such as Baseball Express, Baseball Savings and Better Baseball. Using Google or any other search engine to search “baseball equipment” should expose you to new online baseball specialty sites which may have sprung up since this article was written.

You could also opt to buy your equipment directly from the manufacturer’s website. Another alternative to Baseball Warehouse would be to make use of the baseball section of your local sporting good store. Amazon also has a very large selection of baseball equipment and apparel and would be considered a competitor of Baseball Warehouse.