S.W.O.B.A.T. brings cutting edge technology to the Southwest Ohio baseball community. The Pro Batter PX2 has been know for a few years in the professional baseball community. S.W.O.B.A.T. joins the Cleveland Indians Organization as the only two facilities in Ohio to employ the latest technology to develop great hitters.

PX2, made by ProBatter Sports, is a pitching simulator that allows a hitter to face a life-sized image of a real pitcher delivering a pitch on a video screen. At the exact point of release a baseball is thrown through the screen, perfectly synchronized from a high tech, computer controlled module. This synchronization is perfect and the simulated effect is startlingly real. The technology allows left-handers and right-handers to be faced with the push of a button. The pitcher can throw from the stretch or wind-up. Any pitch that has been invented can be thrown with pinpoint accuracy …and a strike every time. The PX2 allows for speeds between 40 and 100 mph, adjustment for the height of the batter, and predetermined pitch location. Brian Conley, Director of S.W.O.B.A.T. Baseball Operations, watched 90 mph baseballs being thrown pitch after pitch to the exact same outside corner and then watched a slider bite down and in…."Ridiculous" he murmured to himself.

Lee May Jr., hitting instructor in the Cleveland Indian organization, stated that with such exact pitching to location and pitch type it really raises the ability and confidence of hitters, "they start out completely frustrated and slowly but surely they started to foul off the tough pitches. Over time their confidence goes up because they recognize the different pitches. Once that happens they relax, trust their hands, and then they start driving the ball." "I have watched first-hand the positive change this can make in a batter."

We are really excited for all of the local baseball players who will be benefit from such a tool. Conley said, "Anybody who wants to greatly improve their game will benefit from spending time on this high tech simulator." One huge benefit for high school players is the opportunity to get their timing down much earlier in the season. "Our weather in the early spring causes many game cancellations, that combined with not seeing game-speed pitching frequently, makes it difficult for hitters to get their timing down early in the season", commented Conley. Imagine having your timing dialed in in March!

Be ready to be frustrated, but be ready to frustrate the next pitcher you face when you drive his best off-speed pitch into the alley.

S.W.O.B.A.T. will be installing their PX2 the first weekend in December.