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MARKETPLACE:  Auto | Jobs | People Search | Personals | Travel | Yellow Pages  January 12, 2005
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Derek Jeter's Batting Machine
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The product claims to pitch several kinds of balls, from sinkers to sliders to curve balls.  Who better than a pair of professionals to find out....Does It Work?

 

The crack of the bat and the roar of the crowd there's nothing quite like it, but what professional baseball player isn't up for a refresher course on hitting. Have we found the product for them or maybe not.  We bought the Derek Jeter Batting Machine.  Sorry fans the manufacturer obviously wasn't a Red Sox fan. We took it to McCoy Stadium where Paw Sox players  #19 Kelly Shoppach and #31 Andy Dominique were ready for practice.  The product is a remote control batting machine. You set the pitch, press a button on the bat.

 

Ok it took Kelly a few tries.

 

Susan:

 

�I have to say, you didn't do very well!�

 

Kelly:

 

�That�s because it's a lot harder to hit than people think!�

 

Next up was Andy Dominique. First he lines up, presses the button and waits for the pitch.

 

Susan:

 

I have to say, you did better than Kelly! 

 

Andy:

 

I got lucky, yeah.

 

Can Kelly change his luck on a slider? Its baseball Kelly...baseball!  So, what did our

Pawsox players really think of this batting machine?

 

Andy:

 

�I guess you can say as a toy it's fun, but as something to help you in baseball technique, I don't think it's going to give you the full effect of a curve ball, slider, and sinker.�

 

Kelly:

 

The whole concept of it coming up at you is different, it can be a lot of fun, and I�ve had a lot of fun out here! 

 

It is all about having fun!  The players give the Derek Jeter Batting Machine high marks for fun, but as a learning tool in teaching you how to hit, the machine doesn't get a home run, they give it 8 out of 12.

 

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