The Soft Toss Machine Hones A Baseball Players Fundamentals

In baseball and softball, the soft toss machine might be the most understated piece of equipment available. With so much focus on batting cages, batting weights and other baseball equipment, many players and coaches often forget to go back and refine the fundamentals.

Without continuing to maintain visual perception and timing, batting percentages will drop and all of the time hitters spend slugging balls on the practice field or lifting weights will be for nothing. This need to maintain hitting fundamentals is why it's important to incorporate this machine into a balanced training regimen.

The soft toss machine is similar to the more common baseball or softball pitching machine, but it provides something less similar to a pitcher's pitch and instead does just what the name says - tosses the balls softly. Most coaches or players who have been around the game for at least a few years have seen the soft toss drill, where a coach or another player kneels down and tosses ball after ball to the hitter.

This drill helps batters out a lot in the fundamental parts of their hitting, but is commonly overlooked because it requires multiple people and can be a tedious drill to perform. With a soft toss machine, the tediousness is removed from the drill.

Why Do You Need To Practice With A Soft Toss Machine?

These machines toss balls in a set interval, usually around every eight seconds, in an upward ordownward trajectory. The ball can be tossed from a distance of up to twenty-five feet, though most players choose to use the machines at a much closer distance. Virtually any ball, whether a baseball or wiffle ball, can be used in the machines.

Although at a glance it doesn't look like the soft toss drill provides any benefits, it actually helps quite a bit, and the use of a soft toss machine only helps to multiply these benefits. Improved vision is one of the biggest gains a batter gets from practicing with the machine.

While most hitters tend to think that going to batting cages is the best way to improve their hitting and vision, the truth is that without incorporating soft toss, all batting cages do is get them used to one speed. Then, when a pitcher in a game throws a change-up or curve-ball, the batter isn't ready and strikes out. Batters avoid this fate by incorporating the soft toss machine into their training, which keeps them acclimated to timing pitches at different speeds.

Just as vision improves when using the machine, so does overall hand-eye coordination. Again, it comes back to being able to time throws of different speeds so that hitters don't fall into a pattern of only being able to hit one type of throw. By consistently receiving tosses from the machine and focusing on making contact with them, overall hand-eye coordination receives a big boost.

Overall, the soft toss drill just leads to improved focus, and using the machine speeds up the process. While batters love developing their bat speed and strength with cages, using a soft toss machine is one of the smarter things players can do to prepare for a real game. That's why the machines are used by players at every level, even in Major League Baseball.

One important thing to note about the soft toss machine, is that they aren't meant to replace traditional hitting equipment. There are a number of soft toss and pitching machines for sale, but one isn't meant to be bought instead of the other. The pitching machine is meant to improve bat speed and form, as well as provide some semblance of a real at-bat. Whereas using soft toss machines should be seen as a complement to this, not a substitute. When using both together, hitters get the benefits of both. The soft toss machine should be considered by hitters at every level.