Batter Training Aid

The device takes the general shape of a batter's box, the home plate, and the foul lines. It will allow the player to train his or her swing to achieve the best results when striking a baseball or softball as it is pitched towards the plate. This portable device is lightweight but will be subjected to extremes in environment and to physical stress.

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Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This application is a baseball training aid, and more specifically, a baseball hitting aid. One of the most difficult feats is the ability to hit a baseball as it is pitched towards a plate slightly over sixty feet away. Pitchers have developed the ability to spin the ball in ways that will change the direction of the pitch and cause the pitch to move from side to side and drop dramatically as the pitch approaches the plate.

However, to hit the ball with any effectiveness, the hitter must also visualize the pitch and guide the bat to contact the ball and direct the ball to travel in a specific direction. While this device cannot train a batter to detect the pitch and predict movement of the ball, it can train the batter to guide the bat and make contact in different zones to direct the hit into different areas of play.

The fundamentals of hitting remain the same. The batter must view the pitch and maintain an appropriate stance and rotate the hips and torso as the swing is made. The hitter should maintain eye contact on the ball as it strikes the bat.

PRIOR ART

There are many other prior references to batting training aids, and a representative example of this can be found at Madsen, U.S. Pat. No. 3,341,199. This is a baseball home plate with strips on the corners, said strips being of contrasting colors of the top surface of the plate to permit any observation of the baseball having a color similar to that of the stripes when passing over the stripes. This trains the batter to detect the location of the pitch.

Another reference in the prior art is Jackson, U.S. Pat. No. 7,896,759, which is a training device and method to teach directional hitting of a baseball. This device employs a series of parallel lines that consist of a home plate zone, a plurality of equally spaced pitching lanes defined by a plurality of lines, which longitudinally cross over and through home plate. The current application does not employee parallel lines, but uses lines to delineate contact zones.

Another reference can be found at Lozado. This is a specific application to teach bunting techniques, including appropriate foot placement prior to a bunt. Another reference can be found at Jarvis, U.S. Pat. No. 9,468,829, which is a device to teach the mechanics of a swing but does not use a home plate.

Another reference can be found at Trucks, U.S. Patent publication U.S. 2006/0142099. The Trucks device is a ball hitting stance training device, which trains the batter in terms of an appropriate batting technique. Another reference can be found at Jackson, U.S. Patent publication 2008/0102993. This Jackson reference is similar to the prior Jackson patent but is different in similar respects from the current application. None of the prior references teach the features of the current application.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Baseball is a mental sport as much as a physical sport. The player must develop the physical ability to hit a pitched ball but the batter must also be able to control his or her swing to hit into the most effective area of the playing field. For instance, if a runner is on second base, it may be beneficial to “hit behind the runner” to take advantage of a player's speed and maximize the opportunity to advance the runner into scoring position. This type of hitting is a developed skill and is part of the physical as well as the mental game of baseball.

Just as important as being able to hit a ball is the ability to develop patience for the right pitch to achieve the desired result. For instance, if the goal is to hit behind the runner and the runner is on second base, the batter must be patient enough to wait for the right pitch. A player's ability to foul off undesirable pitches is also important and this device will assist the player to perfect that ability. With this device the player can “Lock in” for the right pitch for the situation.

One of the key aspects of baseball is the ability to hit and hit well with patience and discipline. As part of this ability to hit well, a trained batter should develop the skill to hit the pitch to a certain area of the field. The development of this skill, of course, takes training and practice. This aid is a device that will assist in the development and training of hitting skills.

The device will consist of a standard home plate and two batter's boxes. The batter's boxes will be off to the left and right respectively of the plate and will be slightly forward of the plate as well as slightly behind the plate. A movable foot marker will be placed at the starting point of the lead (stride) foot. The player's lead foot would be placed in line with the foot marker so that there is a consistent starting point.

As the player starts his or her swing, the lead foot should proceed forward past marker placement. As the batter swings the bat, it is the bat speed which is created by the hip rotation that creates the power in the swing. Proper placement and movement of the player's hips and torso along with hands, is critical to achieve a better chance of making good contact.

In baseball, there is a “straight pull” hitter, which will hit the ball majority into the pull side of the field. If a player is a “straight pull” hitter the opposing team will develop strategies (such as a shift of the infield players) to reduce the effectiveness of this type of hitter. To be a complete hitter, one must hit a pitch in a particular lane to the area of the field that gives the best chance to be successful. This device will assist the hitter to be consistent at his or her points of contact and allow the hitter to hit the ball to all areas of the field. and make the hitter much more.

This device will train the batter so that he or she can be on time when contact is made while maintaining containment. The area of play should be basically in the area outlined as areas A, B, C on the drawing for maximal affect within the lines that start from the back of the plate and cross the corners of the plate. The area that is formed by these lines and the optimal playing areas.

For purposes of clarification the description of the device and its use will be for a right-handed hitter as well left-handed hitters.

Much of the discussion on this device centers on the player's ability to hit the ball in certain situations based on the contact zones and based on situations that may arise during a game. However, this device can also be used by a pitcher to direct pitches to different areas to minimize the batter's ability to hit the ball to the desired location. A pitcher's ability to select a pitch and direct that pitch to a certain area of the plate is important to enable the pitcher to maximize his or her success during the game.

NUMBERING REFERENCES

    • 5 Home Plate
    • 10 Batter's Box
    • 11 Inside Line
    • 15 Foot positioning marker
    • 20 Delineating line for the left part of the playing field
    • 25 Delineating line for the right part of the playing field
    • A Left-center contact/hit zone
    • B Middle-center contact/hit zone
    • C Right-center contact/hit zone
    • D Foul territory contact/caution zone on the left side
    • E Foul territory contact/caution zone on the right side

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a depiction of the device from the top showing the different zones of contact, the batter boxes, and the home plate.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THE EMBODIMENTS

This device will teach a hitter the nuances of hitting. The device can be used for baseball or softball and can be used by males or females. The device will assist the hitter in training the hitter to hit the ball in play and direct the ball into certain areas of the playing field. The ability of a player to hit to a desired area during a game is oftentimes important. For instance, if a runner is on first, the hitter may want to “hit behind the runner” and direct his hit to right field to advance the runner to third easier. If the ball is hit to left field with a runner on first the runner may need to stop at second because the ball has been hit to left field as opposed to right.

Similarly, the device will train the batter to be patient and wait for a certain pitch. For instance, if the runner is on first and you are trying to advance the runner and perhaps hit “behind the runner” a pitch on the inside of the plate for a right-handed batter is more difficult to hit to right field. The batter can train himself to foul off pitches until he gets the desired placement.

As the batter approaches the home plate 5 and positions himself or herself in the batter's box, the batter will place his leading foot on the foot positioning marker 15. The batter will stand in the batter's box 10 for the right-handed hitter. This foot positioning marker 15 is slightly to the inside of the batter's box adjacent to the line of the interior line 11 of the batter's box adjacent to the plate such as depicted in FIG. 1. The foot positioning marker 15 is adjustable and can be moved along the interior line 11 of the batter's box based on the hitter's preferences. The foot positioning marker 15 provides a reference point for the lead foot of the batter.

The home plate 5 for baseball is a standard size and has two batters' boxes, one of the right side of the plate and one on the left side of the plate; each of the batter's boxes will have a leading edge and an interior line 11 as well as a back edge (not depicted) and another side edge (not depicted) that is parallel to the interior line 11 to form the “box”. The home plate has a front leading edge and two side parallel edges. At a point on the home plate the side edges will angle inward to form a point at the back of the home plate.

A pair of delineating lines 20 and 25 originate from the back of home plate 5. The two lines meet at a point on the back of the plate and extend from the back of the home plate and cross the corners of home plate at the top of the plate. The lines define the area of the playing field into which the batter hopes to place a hit. The goal of the batter is to place the ball in play within the area that is defined by A, B and C and are formed by the delineating lines. Immediately forward of the plate are “impact zones” or “points of contact” that correspond to the desired areas of play in A, B and C.

If the batter wants to practice his swing closer to the playing field, he or she can move the foot positioning marker closer to the playing field in the batter's box; conversely, if the batter wants to practice his swing closer to the catcher he or she can move the foot positioning marker along the interior line of the batter's box away from the playing field.

Although this device can be used to train the batter, the pitcher may also use it as a training aid as well. The goal of a pitcher is to throw a “strike” but position the ball so that it is difficult for the batter to place in the desired location. The pitcher should select a pitch that can be directed to an area of the plate which will minimize the production of the batter. The batter must have the discipline and patience to determine the type of pitch and likely path of the ball and determine if the pitch is suitable based on the circumstances at the time.

For purposes of this application, the application will describe the swing of a right/left handed hitter and this device can be used for anyone (male or female) who plays baseball or softball. The right-handed hitter positions himself with his front or lead foot on the foot positioning marker 15 in the batter's box 10. As the batter begins to stride into the pitch, the lead foot will travel slightly forward past the movable marker line in the batter's box. The batter's lead foot should not open away from the plate nor should the lead foot cross the batter's box line in a direction toward the plate. The movement of the hitter's foot toward the plate or away from the plate will result in poor production from the hitter. At the end of the swing the batter's lead foot should land slightly forward of the foot positioning marker with his toes on the inside line 11 of the batter's box. This positioning of the lead foot will result in maximum production and the desired hit placement.

This device will train the hitter to wait for the desired pitch and contact the pitch in the appropriate contact zone to put the ball in play in the desired area of play, either A, B or C. If the hitter contacts the pitch too early in the swing the ball will tend to travel foul or toward the third baseman with a right-handed hitter into the area that is designated as D. The batter must train his swing to contact the ball to put the ball in play for the greatest advantage and placement of the hit ball is critical.

Although this device is used to train a hitter, the device can also be used to help a pitcher with the proper placement. For instance, if the pitcher wants the batter to hit to the left side of the field, he or she will direct pitches toward the inside of the plate. Conversely, if the pitcher knows a particular batter produces better hits with pitches in areas of the plate, the pitcher will avoid those areas.

Several different track and hit zones—A, B, C and D—are placed in the area in front of the plate formed by an arch that is directly in front of the plate. This arch contains the contact ready zone. The contact zones differentiate the areas of play for a particular hit. The contact zones will train the player to hit the ball into certain areas of the playing field.

For instance, if the batter wants to put the ball in play in the left-center area of the field the hitter would strive to make contact with the pitch and force the ball into the “A” area of FIG. 1. The device will train the hitter to contact the ball at a certain point of contact to hit the ball to a particular area. The specific direction of the hit may depend on the circumstances at that time during the game or perhaps a perceived weakness in the defense.

Through repetition the hitter would train themselves to hit into different areas. There would be designated contact zones so that the ball can be put in play in the following areas: A—left center, B—middle center, C—right center, D—foul area to the left and E—foul area to the right.

During a turn at the plate it may become important to the hitter to wait for a desired pitch in a desired place over the plate.

The device is a training aid, and it may be incorporated with a batting cage (not depicted). The batting cage partially surrounds the player but allows the player to put the ball to put the ball in the field of play. Cameras (not depicted) may be attached to the batting cage at different locations on the batting cage. These different areas may include the top of the cage or the sides of the batting cage. The use of cameras will allow the batter's swing to be recorded and instantly accessed after the swing.

The device is designed to be portable and withstand extremes in environments and weather.

Claims

1. A batter training aid which is comprised of:

a home plate;
wherein the home plate has a predetermined shape;
a batter's box on the right side;
wherein the batter's box on the right side has a predetermined shape;
wherein an interior line is placed on the batter's box adjacent to the home plate;
a batter's box on the left side;
wherein the batter box on the left side has a predetermined shape;
wherein an interior line is placed on the batter's box on the left side;
a foot positioning marker;
wherein the foot positioning marker provides a reference point for the lead foot of a batter;
wherein the foot positioning marker is placed adjacent to the home plate;
a mat surface;
wherein the mat surface displays a plurality of contact zones;
wherein each of the plurality of contact zones display areas on a baseball field;
a plurality of markers for the plurality of contact zones;
wherein a contact zone for left-center is provided,
wherein a contact zone for middle-center is provided,
wherein a contact zone for right-center is provided,
wherein a contact zone for a foul ball to the right is provided,
wherein a contact zone for a foul ball to the left is provided.

2. The batter training aid as described in claim 1 wherein the foot positioning marker is movable.

3. A batter training aid which is comprised of:

a home plate;
wherein the home plate has a predetermined shape;
a batter's box on the right side;
wherein the batter's box on the right side has a predetermined shape;
wherein an interior line is placed on the batter's box adjacent to the home plate;
a batter box on the left side;
wherein the batter box on the left side has a predetermined shape;
wherein an interior line is placed on the batter's box adjacent to the home plate;
a foot positioning marker;
wherein the foot positioning marker provides a reference point for the lead foot of a batter;
wherein the foot positioning marker is placed adjacent to the home plate;
a mat surface;
wherein the mat surface displays a plurality of contact zones;
wherein each of the plurality of contact zones display areas on a baseball field;
a plurality of markers for a plurality of contact zones;
wherein a contact zone for left-center is provided,
wherein a contact zone for middle-center is provided,
wherein a contact zone for right-center is provided,
wherein a contact zone for a foul ball to the right is provided,
wherein a contact zone for a foul ball to the left is provided, a plurality of cameras on a batting cage;
wherein the plurality of cameras are positioned to capture images of the player's swing.

4. The batter training aid as described in claim 3 wherein the foot positioning marker is movable.

5. The batter training aid as described in claim 1 wherein the plurality of cameras is placed on the top of the batting cage.

6. The batter training aid as described in claim 1 wherein the plurality of cameras are placed on the sides of the batting cage.

7. A method to use the batter training aid as described in claim 1 which is comprised of the following steps:

a batter enters a batter's box
the batter positions his feet within the batter's box
the batter positions the foot positioning marker
the batter determines the proper placement of the hit
the batter determines that placement of the pitch
the batter follows the travel of the ball as it approaches the batter
the batter tracks the movement of the ball
the batter tracks the movement of the ball as it contacts the surface of a bat
the batter makes contact within a contact zone
the batter tracks the path of the ball as the player follows the swing through the contact zone.
Patent History
Publication number: 20230338805
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 26, 2022
Publication Date: Oct 26, 2023
Inventor: Gary Thomas (Middleburg, FL)
Application Number: 17/729,441
Classifications
International Classification: A63B 69/00 (20060101);