I am an old catcher and now even older father. I have one boy. It is getting more and more difficult to bend down to catch. It is also difficult to find someone to play catch with at the same level as my son. I have designed a simple "catching" machine. You have several baseballs in a queue, throw to a backstop. This will trigger the next ball to lightly be thrown back to the thrower using high pressured air. The pressure can be adjusted depending on the skill level and distance of the thrower. You can make it more advanced by adding pitch count, speed and ball or strike using some laser tech. The "throw back" arm can also be detached and used without the apparatus to "throw" ground balls. It is very difficult to find able bodied fathers or catchers.
I agree
No opinion
I disagree
Add your comment
This sounds interesting, but I can't tell from the description how it actually works. How exactly does it catch the balls?
My brother pitched to an elastic screen/net in a frame. It sat at an angle, so when he pitched, it would bounce the ball back as a pop-up.
You say that you've already designed this. Did you build it? It might be easier to just use the above. Sounds like you need pressure sensors, triggers, some sort of catching apparatus. Complex.
I don't think able-bodied fathers are scarce, it's just that we already have a list of things to do. Playing ball is hard to make a priority.
If you could find the right materials, you could probably rig something robotic to retrieve (or even catch) the ball, tied to an electric eye. A large backstop would work just as fine. It would return the ball to an adjustable "gun" that could launch the ball in a variety of ways.
The spring loaded apparatus that someone referred to is an old model that was horrible and dangerous. If you hit a different spot on the target the ball would go somewhere else. You also had no time to react. If you threw hard and hit the target, the ball would come back to you at the same speed, if not faster. A person who wants to learn mechanics, even if you hit the right spot, would be more concerned about the ball coming back, then proper mechanics. You had no time to react. As to the comment that most fathers are able to squat down and catch. I do not think so. Whether it is the inability to squat or the inability to catch properly, it is not being done. The apparatus would be designed to delay three seconds before throwing the ball back. It would be four feet high for Little Leaguers and five for older kids. It would be 24 inches wide. The plate is 17.5 inches wide. It could then fold up and be put away. You would also make money from reusable equipment from the "backstop" to the arm. You can also make it more complicated for the serious pitcher and put speed, pitch count and ball, strike and out count. Baseball is losing interest with a lot of kids, technology can make it more interesting.
I used to have one of those trampoline style ball returners. It "threw" the ball back much slower than you threw at it. It had to be angled to throw the ball up on an arc or it wouldn't make it back to you. The problem I had with it was that you had to hit it pretty close to the center or it wouldn't throw it back anywhere near you. This could have been fixed simply by making it a lot bigger.
You still haven't explained how it works. Does it use a net to catch the ball? Does the ball roll from the net to the throwing device? How close to the strike zone must the throw be to get "caught"?
I am interested in speaking to you concerning your idea for a story I am working on for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Please send me an E-mail with some contact information.
A similar idea is being pursued by a local inventor. He has applied for a patent. I'd like to know what the status of your invention is, and whether you have marketed it.