Baseball players of all ages benefit from hitting off a batting tee, which is a stationary vertical pole designed to hold the baseball in place. Youngsters begin playing baseball in tee ball leagues until they gain the necessary skills to hit pitched balls. Yet even professional hitters use tees to fine-tune their swings. Fortunately, modern baseball tees have evolved well beyond a simple stick anchored in a plastic base.
Adjustable Tees
Adjustable batting tees come in a variety of styles and constructions, with each one designed to accommodate hitters of different heights. These tees typically feature some form of retractable pole that can be quickly adjusted to raise or lower the ball to each hitter’s desired strike zone.
360 Tees
Similar to an adjustable tee, the 360 tee anchors to its base on a swivel ball. This allows the pole to spin and rotate to position the baseball at different heights and locations within the strike zone. The 360 tee’s top features gripping fingers to keep the ball in place even when the pole stands less than vertical.
Forward Arm
Some batting tees feature a unique construction that holds the ball atop an extended forward arm. While the pole itself remains anchored in the center of home plate, the forward arm positions the ball several inches in front of the plate. When the batter swings, he must keep the bat level throughout the strike zone to contact the ball cleanly without striking the tee’s forward arm. Developing a level swing will help you produce crisp line drives.
Popping Tees
A nice bridge between batting tees and pitching, a popping tee stands much shorter than a traditional tee. The popping tee contains an internal mechanism that fires and projects the ball in the air, creating a perfect pop-up for the batter to hit. Coaches or players can adjust the popping tee to launch balls at different heights and angles to work all areas of the strike zone.
Spinning Tees
A spinning tee has its base located off the plate, while a long arm holds an attached baseball into the hitting zone. The batter strikes the ball and sends it spinning around the anchored base until it unwraps and returns to the original position. Such spinning tees provide hitters with a constant supply of perfectly positioned baseballs without having to reload the tee or chase down batted balls.
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