( 
)Hi. I'm lagrange235. This guide will introduce you to the baseball batting cage. What to look for in building your own or buying a kit. And some tips. This guide is not meant to be a complete, authoritative guide. Also, this guide will be refined and added on as time permits. If you have suggestions on how to improve this guide, click on the feedback score above and send me a message.
What is a baseball batting cage?
There is no standard definition. The industry wide definition is a mesh netting grafted on to a metal frame to catch or stop baseballs. The major components are: the metal frame, the netting that surrounds the metal frame, and possibly ground attachment hardware.
What is the purpose of a baseball batting cage?
The single most important purpose of a baseball batting cage is to stop high speed flying objects (in this case, baseballs). These baseballs can be coming from the batter, a pitcher, or even a pitching machine. Suppose you live in a suburbs or small communities where not everyone has acres of land, and you want to practice throwing curve balls or your batting skills, you wouldn't just go to your backyard and do it. Because there is a chance the ball may land at the wrong place or hit something or someone accidentally. Really hate to say this, but in our litigious society, this may prove to be a significant risk to your favorite hobby. On the flip side of the coin, if you have your own ball field and don't mind spending some time looking for the balls after you hit them, then you probably don't need a batting cage. Not every place has a ball park or practice range. The baseball batting cage is essentially your own private ball park in your backyard.
The Net
Netting usually has hexagonal or square openings. Most of the nets available on the market is colored black to reduce interference with vision. Material can be nylon, polyethylene, or any other variations of the plastics family. Nettings are not made of metal is because of weight restrictions on frames. Another reason for using plastic netting is to have a little "give" when the baseball is stopped. The small "give" in the plastic netting is what dissipates the kinetic energy.
Strength of the netting is not determined solely by twine/line thickness. It is also determined by netting's construction and special features. One example is the cross over "intersection" were two lines cross at right angles of each other. The feature to look for is the "knotted" cross over because the opening can retain its original shape better. Another important feature to look for is UV stabilization treatment. Plastics are carbon chain polymers. Chemical bonds in plastics are susceptible to UV ray break down (meaning destabilize). So before you buy a netting for your batting cage, whether it's nylon, polyethylene, or whatever material, be sure to ask the seller about UV treatment or UV breakdown resistance. This is directly proportional to the life time of the batting cage. Better UV treatment and construction means longer life. There is no free lunch: UV treatment cost a little more. But the trade off is worth it.
We briefly touched on the twine thickness above. So what is the significance of the twine( line ) thickness? Thicker lines means stronger material. Similar to thickness gauge system of designating numbers to material thickness, a twine thickness (or size to be exact) is designated by a number. Common twine sizes are #18 (number 18), #21 (number 21), #30, etc. If you take a dial caliper and measure the twine size, a #30 twine has a greater diameter than a #18. You'll also find a #30 has more strands of fiber material in construction. Generally speaking, durability increases with twine size. A baseball cage netting with twine size of #30 is definitely more robust than a #18. Do keep in mind, that everything is subject to normal wear and tear. Baseball batting cage is a good example.
Rules of thumb for twine sizes:
#18, good starting point, for hobby use and to try things out
#21, better, for more frequent usage, this is a good middle ground
#30, commercial quality stuff
# greater than 30, really tough, but weighs a ton and is expensive to ship
Standard Sizes in Netting
Sizes are quoted with three numbers: width, height, and length. Units are in feet. For example, a common baseball batting cage size is the 12' x 14' x 70'. From these three numbers, you can tell that the net is 12 feet high, 14 feet wide, and 70 feet in length (or depth). It is safe to assume the second largest dimension is the width, and height is the smallest number of the three. If a vendor said the 14' from above example is the height, either the vendor is incorrect or run the other way. It's just common sense. A squat structure is much more stable than a tall thin structure. Even if the vendor's design is correct, the structure will need extra support to remain physically stable, especially under windy conditions.
Other common size: 12' x 14' x 55'. There are variations such as 10' x 12' x 50' or 12' x 12' x 65'. Basically, they are about the same size, give or take a couple feet in dimensions.
Tell me about the frame.
Well, the frame is the skeleton of your batting cage. It holds up the netting that will stop the balls. It can made of wood or metal. I have not seen plastic ones that can be scaled to hold heavy duty netting. If you have seen one that can hold a 70 feet batting cage, let me know.
Wood construction is not common. It can be done with pressure treated lumber or regular painted lumber. The important thing is that the frame should last at least 3 years structurally when exposed to the weather. It can be built out of 2 x 4s and metal framing connectors. You can find the metal framing connectors from hardware stores.
Metal frame is quite common. Usually, you purchase a metal frame kit from the vendor. There are actually two types of metal frame kit: one with structural members and one without. The metal frame kit with structural members is the complete kit with corner connectors and long pole like members to erect the frame. This type cost more. The other type of metal frame kit contains just the connectors. You go to local hardware store and purchase the metal frame members as you would buy 2 x 4s. The connector kit lets you combine the elements together to form a complete metal frame. This type of kit is cheaper and cheaper to ship as well.
Many people purchase a frame connector kit sized to suit their netting.
Other Hardware
The only other hardware you probably need would be the "feet" or ground attachment on the frames. When talking about ground attachments, the term includes ground stacks, anchors, and flanges. Ground stacks are used to lock your netting in place. It is similar to the camping stacks that looks like the letter "J". Anchors are used with guide wires when building large batting cage frames. The anchor-guide wire system is used to stabilize the whole batting cage. Flanges are round and square plates that attach to the bottom of the frame so they don't sink into soft ground or mud. Flanges are good ideas whether you have sandy soil or clay soil. These hardware can be added to the frame later. So there is some flexibility in the construction.
To Sum Things Up
By now, you have learned the basics in baseball batting cage, the netting sizes, the frame, material, and associated hardware. Armed with the knowledge, it's time for you to start acquiring the right components for your batting cage.
What is a baseball batting cage?
There is no standard definition. The industry wide definition is a mesh netting grafted on to a metal frame to catch or stop baseballs. The major components are: the metal frame, the netting that surrounds the metal frame, and possibly ground attachment hardware.
What is the purpose of a baseball batting cage?
The single most important purpose of a baseball batting cage is to stop high speed flying objects (in this case, baseballs). These baseballs can be coming from the batter, a pitcher, or even a pitching machine. Suppose you live in a suburbs or small communities where not everyone has acres of land, and you want to practice throwing curve balls or your batting skills, you wouldn't just go to your backyard and do it. Because there is a chance the ball may land at the wrong place or hit something or someone accidentally. Really hate to say this, but in our litigious society, this may prove to be a significant risk to your favorite hobby. On the flip side of the coin, if you have your own ball field and don't mind spending some time looking for the balls after you hit them, then you probably don't need a batting cage. Not every place has a ball park or practice range. The baseball batting cage is essentially your own private ball park in your backyard.
The Net
Netting usually has hexagonal or square openings. Most of the nets available on the market is colored black to reduce interference with vision. Material can be nylon, polyethylene, or any other variations of the plastics family. Nettings are not made of metal is because of weight restrictions on frames. Another reason for using plastic netting is to have a little "give" when the baseball is stopped. The small "give" in the plastic netting is what dissipates the kinetic energy.
Strength of the netting is not determined solely by twine/line thickness. It is also determined by netting's construction and special features. One example is the cross over "intersection" were two lines cross at right angles of each other. The feature to look for is the "knotted" cross over because the opening can retain its original shape better. Another important feature to look for is UV stabilization treatment. Plastics are carbon chain polymers. Chemical bonds in plastics are susceptible to UV ray break down (meaning destabilize). So before you buy a netting for your batting cage, whether it's nylon, polyethylene, or whatever material, be sure to ask the seller about UV treatment or UV breakdown resistance. This is directly proportional to the life time of the batting cage. Better UV treatment and construction means longer life. There is no free lunch: UV treatment cost a little more. But the trade off is worth it.
We briefly touched on the twine thickness above. So what is the significance of the twine( line ) thickness? Thicker lines means stronger material. Similar to thickness gauge system of designating numbers to material thickness, a twine thickness (or size to be exact) is designated by a number. Common twine sizes are #18 (number 18), #21 (number 21), #30, etc. If you take a dial caliper and measure the twine size, a #30 twine has a greater diameter than a #18. You'll also find a #30 has more strands of fiber material in construction. Generally speaking, durability increases with twine size. A baseball cage netting with twine size of #30 is definitely more robust than a #18. Do keep in mind, that everything is subject to normal wear and tear. Baseball batting cage is a good example.
Rules of thumb for twine sizes:
#18, good starting point, for hobby use and to try things out
#21, better, for more frequent usage, this is a good middle ground
#30, commercial quality stuff
# greater than 30, really tough, but weighs a ton and is expensive to ship
Standard Sizes in Netting
Sizes are quoted with three numbers: width, height, and length. Units are in feet. For example, a common baseball batting cage size is the 12' x 14' x 70'. From these three numbers, you can tell that the net is 12 feet high, 14 feet wide, and 70 feet in length (or depth). It is safe to assume the second largest dimension is the width, and height is the smallest number of the three. If a vendor said the 14' from above example is the height, either the vendor is incorrect or run the other way. It's just common sense. A squat structure is much more stable than a tall thin structure. Even if the vendor's design is correct, the structure will need extra support to remain physically stable, especially under windy conditions.
Other common size: 12' x 14' x 55'. There are variations such as 10' x 12' x 50' or 12' x 12' x 65'. Basically, they are about the same size, give or take a couple feet in dimensions.
Tell me about the frame.
Well, the frame is the skeleton of your batting cage. It holds up the netting that will stop the balls. It can made of wood or metal. I have not seen plastic ones that can be scaled to hold heavy duty netting. If you have seen one that can hold a 70 feet batting cage, let me know.
Wood construction is not common. It can be done with pressure treated lumber or regular painted lumber. The important thing is that the frame should last at least 3 years structurally when exposed to the weather. It can be built out of 2 x 4s and metal framing connectors. You can find the metal framing connectors from hardware stores.
Metal frame is quite common. Usually, you purchase a metal frame kit from the vendor. There are actually two types of metal frame kit: one with structural members and one without. The metal frame kit with structural members is the complete kit with corner connectors and long pole like members to erect the frame. This type cost more. The other type of metal frame kit contains just the connectors. You go to local hardware store and purchase the metal frame members as you would buy 2 x 4s. The connector kit lets you combine the elements together to form a complete metal frame. This type of kit is cheaper and cheaper to ship as well.
Many people purchase a frame connector kit sized to suit their netting.
Other Hardware
The only other hardware you probably need would be the "feet" or ground attachment on the frames. When talking about ground attachments, the term includes ground stacks, anchors, and flanges. Ground stacks are used to lock your netting in place. It is similar to the camping stacks that looks like the letter "J". Anchors are used with guide wires when building large batting cage frames. The anchor-guide wire system is used to stabilize the whole batting cage. Flanges are round and square plates that attach to the bottom of the frame so they don't sink into soft ground or mud. Flanges are good ideas whether you have sandy soil or clay soil. These hardware can be added to the frame later. So there is some flexibility in the construction.
To Sum Things Up
By now, you have learned the basics in baseball batting cage, the netting sizes, the frame, material, and associated hardware. Armed with the knowledge, it's time for you to start acquiring the right components for your batting cage.
Guide created: 06/14/07 (updated 09/05/09)
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