Posts Tagged ‘Baseball Equipment’
The Hitting JackIt System
March 11th, 2012 by Cale LokenBaseball season is arriving and there will be plenty of new baseball products hitting the local sports stores shelves. A new product that helps develop bat speed during batting practice is the Hitting JackIt System.
The product comes in four sizes to assist progressive training. The 9oz size develops bat speed and works fast twitch muscles. The 12oz size strengths hands and forearms, and improves muscle memory. The 16oz size develops power and the 21oz “on deck” size builds Big League power. The product works with all baseball and softball bats allowing players to develop during live batting practice sessions and off hitting tees.
All current weighted products on the market are placed on the barrel of the bat causing a “casting” elongated swing, slowing down your swing causing less power and do not let you practice with live pitching. The Hitting Jack-it was developed as a complete hitting system by ball players for ball players to provide immediate results, quickly develop bat speed and power, and force your hands to work properly creating improved technique.
Some Major Leaguers are using the Hitting JackIt, including Evan Longoria. On February 16th, Longoria(@Evan3Longoria) tweeted about the Hitting JackIt: “Spring is coming quickly, pick up a Hitting Jackit System! I promise you won’t regret it. Been using it for 2 yrs now, it’s an amazing tool!” Longoria then tweeted about it again on Feb 28th, “Pick up the Hitting Jackit System. No joke, I am happy I worked with it this offseason. Looking forward to getting going!”
Here are a few videos showing how the Hitting JackIt System works:
You can purchase the all in one system with 9oz, 12oz and 16oz or 5oz, 9oz and 12oz weights included for $49.99. You can buy the 16oz and 21oz weights individually for $19.95 and $21.95 a piece.
Bryce Harper SwingAway Commercial
June 26th, 2011 by Ben RemingtonEarlier this month, we wrote about Bryce Harper signing a deal to endorse the SwingAway. Now there is a new commercial featuring Bryce and the product.
The 2011 Baseball All Star Game
June 25th, 2011 by Ben RemingtonWe’re still weeks away from baseball’s midsummer classic, and yet I find myself thinking about it. Maybe because it’s my fantasy league’s trade deadline, maybe it’s because I really do enjoy the Home Run Derby, unlike some baseball purists.
Or maybe because the selection process is quite flawed. Right now, if you’re a big fan of the All Star Game, I hope you like the Yankees too, because they will make up over half the AL starting roster. But that is just one of my many gripes. I think that the fans who vote, on the whole, simply vote for name recognition, and obviously have a pretty narrow roster of players from around the league outside of their home town team. This coupled with the heavy, heavy east coast bias is turning a great honor into something that is more or less eyerolled at by knowledgeable baseball fans. Here’s the leading vote getters, as of June 20 & 14, respectively:
NL
Brian McCann C Atl- Can’t argue
Albert Pujols 1st Stl- Going to change with his injury, but I’m not so sure he deserved to make it anyway- hitting .279, granted with 17 homers, Fielder is numerically crushing him.
Brandon Phillips 2B Cin- Not sure how he’s leading it, with Rickie Weeks having another monster season for the Crew.
Placido Polanco 3B Phi – Sure he’s hitting ok in a weak stat position, but I’ve got a soft spot for Chipper.
Troy Tulowitzki SS Col- Toss up with him and Reyes- Power vs. Speed. I love me some Tulo though
Ryan Braun, Lance Berkman & Matt Holliday OF- All 3 are having great years, but Kemp is notably absent. Maybe the baseball world dislikes him as much as I do.
AL
Russell Martin C Nyy- Really? This is one of my biggest complaints. Sure, Martin is having a decent season, but Alex Avila is hitting a full 70 points higher than him, with similar or better power numbers across the board. If you’re asking who Alex Avila is, you’re part of the problem, buddy.
Adrian Gonzalez 1B Bos- Thankfully, A-Gone just passed Teixeira, which is great because Gonzalez deserves the honor more. His numbers are ridiculous.
Robinson Cano 2B Nyy- A Yankee selection I wholeheartedly agree with.
Alex Rodriguez 3B Nyy- Sure, his numbers justify it, but even if he were batting .240, he’d get in.
Derek Jeter SS Nyy- What is this, a lifetime achievement award? .260 with 2 HR. Asdrubal Cabrera or Elvis Andrus, please.
Jose Bautista, Curtis Granderson & Josh Hamilton OF- I love Josh Hamilton. I do. He’s maybe my favorite ballplayer. But Jacoby Ellsbury deserves this spot. I’m thinking fans are voting in Hamilton with the hopes of seeing another Home Run Derby for the ages. So, I’ll let it slide.
So there you have it, a few head scratchers and a few undeserving Yankees, and you have an unfortunate situation in your All Star Starting lineup. I’m not sure that MLB can do anything about it, and I’m also pretty sure I don’t want Bud Selig making any more idiotic changes to the game, but I’d like to see this end happily. I think we as voters need to be more responsible, and maybe votes from New York should count as half votes, something to restore integrity to this process. I’ll watch the game regardless, but I’d like to see more players that are lesser known, but more deserving make the game, to further educate the unknowing masses on this great game and the men who play it.
Introducing the FastArm Pitching Trainer
June 20th, 2011 by Ben RemingtonIn the world of baseball, training is everything. From hitting off a tee to bullpen sessions, every ballplayer age 5-40 has to train. So, naturally, there are plenty of training aids out there. While many have an obvious advantage and function, some come along that raise an eyebrow for one reason or another. Today, I have the latter.
It’s called the FastArm, and it’s a trainer designed to improve your throwing arm from top to bottom. It’s basically a baseball on a bend shaft, with a handle at the end. I watched the video below, and it’s pretty convincing in helping a pitcher develop more arm strength and durability. Of course, having Neftali Feliz promote the product doesn’t hurt, either. Hopefully no one believes that they will start pumping out 100mph heat and knee buckling breaking balls because of a ball on a stick, but realistically, I think it’s a useful tool that at minimum helps a pitcher warm up quickly and effectively.
The FastArm was invented by former pitcher Bob Kaiser, who spent years in the minors, but only received a cup of coffee in the majors due to shoulder injuries. He has set out to prevent the same fate for young developing pitchers. They offer two models, the FastArm and FastArm Jr., for players age 7-11, both come in at an affordable $44.95. As for the skeptics and doubters, which is likely to be a strong contingent, they offer a 30 day, no questions asked money back guarantee, which is a nice thing to see from someone with a product that doesn’t prove it’s mettle without some vigorous use. So if you’d like to add velocity, durability and sharpen your throwing mechanics give the FastArm a whirl.
To find out a retailer that carries the FastArm in your area, search Sportrabbit.com.
Find Insignia Baseball Gloves at Sports Authority
May 17th, 2011 by Ben Remington
Fully Customizable, Made in the USA, and coming to a store near you. Indy Baseball company Insignia has hit the shelves of The Sports Authority, Offering the line of fully customizable American made gloves to customers, along with a small selection of pre-made gloves in store. Who is Insignia, you say? The short answer is a Nokona-like quality glove manufacturer based out of Worchester, MA., here’s a great article I dug up on them from about a month ago at www.wbur.org.
Being part of select Sports Authority’s stores will undoubtedly increase sales for this small glovemaker, and hopefully reaps much success for a small American operation up against many foreign competitors. The gloves come in a variety of different styles, sizes and colors. The price for the gloves starts at $159.99 and goes all the way up to $299.99 for the top of the line models. Find out if anyone else in your area carries Insignia baseball gloves by searching at Sportrabbit.com.