Practice balls for hitting? Practice balls for pitching?

DD is aging up so going from 11 to 12" balls. I will also be coaching this spring so I need to gear up for the different size. I want some good practice balls for hitting and fielding for the team. Any recommendations for 2 dozen practice balls used primarily for team drills? Leather cover and last during hitting?

Also looking for Dudley or Dream seams at a decent price used for pitching.


Where do you like to buy that has a decent price?

NVfishing said:

DD is aging up so going from 11 to 12" balls. I will also be coaching this spring so I need to gear up for the different size. I want some good practice balls for hitting and fielding for the team. Any recommendations for 2 dozen practice balls used primarily for team drills? Leather cover and last during hitting?

Also looking for Dudley or Dream seams at a decent price used for pitching.


Where do you like to buy that has a decent price?

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A very good option is to ask a tournament director about buying game-used balls.

I got buckets of wore out balls. One of the most durable balls I have, is the diamond little league ball, these are synthetic, some probably 3 years old, still the best ball in the bucket to hit. My girls get all makes and models when it comes to fielding and throwing drills, whatever is in the bucket. As long as the seams arent ripped, its all good. The pitchers like the dream seam, wilson champion, decker shark, all good leather balls. Tournament balls maybe a good choice, depending on what they use, most we see are cheap and definitely wouldn't last long.

Try a second-hand sporting goods store like Play-it again sports for BP balls. I have made it a regular spring event to go in to the local store and buy a bucket of used balls. As for the pitching balls, my pitchers love the Dream Seams for their practice balls.

I wouldn't make it too difficult. I'd get a 2-3 doz of the same balls and hit and pitch them all. Save a doz to work in as the first ones get scuffed up, torn, lost etc. Or play it again sports for hitting balls if you have that option.

We had good luck with Baden synthetic poly cores for hitting. Pretty nice seams too.

One of my best purchases ever was 200 slow pitch balls on Craigslist. They were a mix but a whole lot were Trump/Evil leather cover balls. They are excellent, hit them and hit them and hit them. More is better.

If you are buying new try contacting BobbyBuggs on Softballfans.com.

I purchased the Dudley Thunder Heat balls with the leather cover from Amazon. Since I purchased 2 dozen initially almost 4 years ago, most are still in service as hitting balls and tee work at our indoor facility. Every year I purchase a new dozen for my pitchers to warm up with during tournaments. Every couple of tournaments I put new warm up balls in and take the old pitching balls and rotate them into my hitting bucket. These replace my older, more scuffed up balls which then get relegated to my large hitting bin at the facility. They have great seams which my pitchers love and last a long time for hitting. The only other balls my pitchers really care for are the Worth Dream Seams but I've found that the Dudleys outlast them as far as hitting goes over a long period of time. I've found them for as cheap as $50 a dozen at times when they were on special. However, I usually pay around $57. Over the lifespan of them though, I've found that the price actually works out cheaper per ball due to their longevity than the others I've used in the past.