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.

Advantages of Buying A Pitching Machine
The key to good hitting is repetition. Major Leaguers practice their swing over and over again, training their muscles to be able to repeat themselves in perfect form.

But while Major Leaguers are supported by a full-time coaching staff during the season and have access to all sorts of training facilities and personnel in the off-season, the amateur or youth baseball player has no such resources. Yes, they can get some swings in at baseball practice but the amount of repetition needed to ensure optimal performance is probably out of reach unless they have a very patient rubber armed parent or friend who is willing to pitch to them constantly.

Now there are other ways besides get in your swings without live pitching. A tee, for one. But while this can help you with your mechanics and muscle memory it doesn’t really mimic all the skills required to hit a ball out of a pitcher’s hand. That’s where a pitching machine comes in.

You’re probably thinking “Wait, I’m not a millionaire with a monocle and top hat. So I can’t afford a fancy ba-dancy pitching machine.”

Well, first of all, you’d look ridiculous playing baseball in a monocle and top hat. And, second, while it’s true some pitching machines run thousands of dollars there are plenty much cheaper model than that. And considering how many hours of use you could get out a pitching machine that runs a few hundred dollars it’s actually quite a value.

The benefits of a hitting machine are manyfold. It means you can keep a uniform practice schedule set to your own terms. It will improve your concentration and posture at the plate. And it will sharpen your head and eye coordination as well as the essential ability to see the ball to the bat.

There are all different types of pitching machines. Some are completely portable, some are battery powered, and there are even some that rely on springs and don’t require a power source which helps in backyards without power sources. Some of the machines you can get for a few hundred dollars should be able to throw between 60 and 70 MPH and feature fastballs at adjustable heights.

When you start to get into the $1000 and over range you have machines with the ability to hit 100 MPH and fire off just about any pitch the human arm can produce — including knuckleballs. (However practicing too much against a knuckleball is a bad idea.) Then if you are really looking to spend some cash there are some hitting machines out there that have 100 plus ball capacities and all sorts of analytical software to help with your hitting, but they are going to run over $5000. Here are a few well-rated pitching machines at various price points. They should be available online or at your local sporting goods store.

Louisville Slugger UPM45 Original Ultimate Pitching Machine $200
Not only is this machine fully portable, it doesn’t even require a power source! Instead the Louisville Slugger UPM45 Original Ultimate pitching machine is driven by a spring loaded power system that last up to 20,000 pitches. It’s easily adjustable for pitch location and speed and will hurl a baseball up to 45 MPH. Switch to more lightweight soft-type balls and this machine will have them whizzing 60 MPH. The number one youth league pitching machine in America will also work for with softballs. Those who have bought the product laud its ability to pitch accurately over and over again and its easy in setting up. And since it only weighs 20 pounds it won’t take much to move from the baseball diamond to the backyard.

Trend Sports Slider & Power Alley System – Lite-Ball Pitching Machine & Home Batting Cage Combination $360
Perfect for home use, the Trend Sports Slider & Power Alley System uses special Slider lite balls which are ⅔ the weight of a regular baseball for backyard safety. The machine has an automatic 12 ball feeder and can pitch fastballs, curves and sliders at adjustable speeds of up to 60 MPH. It comes with a 22 foot long, ten foot high and 12 foott wide net that will turn any backyard into a proper batting cage without the risk of broken windows and neighbor lawsuits. According to Trend Sports it only takes 30 minutes to set up both the machine and the net.

First Pitch Original Baseball Softball Pitching Machine w/ 24″ & 32″ Legs 220V $875
With a five year warrenty for residential use, the First Pitch Original Pitching machine can easily get your son or daughter through high school ball. That’s right, son or daughter because one of the features of the machine is it works for both baseballs and softball and toggling between the two is simple as snapping on a different loading tube. For baseball, it can throw between 20 and 80 MPH and comes with both a set of 24 inch and 32 inch legs. With its strong motor and quality materials this machine will have plenty of resale value for when that young slugger of yours graduates to the real world.

Jugs Curveball Pitching Machine $2500
Featuring a patented “gooseneck” design, the Jugs Curveball Pitching Machine can not only throw fastballs, curves and sliders, but it can toss either right or left handed. The machine will work with just about any type of baseball or softball shaped ball and can pitch from 20 MPH to an Aldonis Chapman like 104 MPH. Although heavy (150 pounds) the product will fit into the trunk of most cars, so it can be moved without a great deal of difficulty. Thanks to its 360 degree swivel design it is also perfect for practicing fly balls, ground balls, pop ups and line drives. The Jugs Curveball Pitching Machine comes with a 5-year warranty and is recommended for ages 12 and up. It may not be cheap, but this is the kind equipment the pros use.

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.