Batting Cage, Help Needed...

[caimakale]

I recently purchased three high quality 14' x 75' nets that were pulled from an indoor practice facility. I want to use them to build a cage in my back yard for my daughter to hit/pitch in.

Given the size of the nets, I'm looking for input on the size of the cage. I'm not opposed to purchasing a few more nets for the ends but think a 75' cage may be a little overkill. is a 12' x 12' x 50' cage sufficient? 12' x 12' x 60'? I want to be comfortable and have space to work but am looking for input from those that have built them in the past.

 

[knightsb]

IMO 12'x12'x50' is large enough, it is what I have in my back yard.

 

[vdubya]

12x12x50 is plenty. Mine is 12x16x70. If mine were just for hitting, I could get by with half the length. Now that I know better, I never use a pitching machine and I never pitch from full distance, so the length is definitely overkill if we didn't also use it to pitch in.

Tanner tees, Jugs screens, and quality leather balls...that is what I'd recommend. Not machines. Buy the screen first...trust me on that!
VW

 

[coach james]

My outdoor cage is 14wide X 12tall X 55long. I do use a machine quite a bit as part of our routine though...

 

[Greenmonsters]

The above distance advice is good, except if you have/will have boys! Then you'd want 70'

 

[caimakale]

No boys here, unless I get remarried to someone with a son. I think I like the 12' x 12' x 55' recommendation. I have a machine and a tee but will buy a screen too.

Thanks everyone, now it's time to design and build it!

 

[RichK]

Just fyi, I went ten feet wide -- which seems not wide enough but turns out to be fine, you just need to "stretch" the home plate area out a bit. What that let me do is use off-the-shelf 10-foot fence posting which really kept costs down. If cost isn't a concern, 12 feet is great. But my 10 x 50 cage is big enough for everything we do, including a machine. Bought two golf hitting range cage mats for $50 each too, best investment I made.