If you love baseball and softball, how cool would it be to have your own baseball batting cage?
Obviously, you need to have the space for it, but if you have a large yard with some flat space, building a home batting cage is totally possible. Below I have some photos, links, and tips for how to set one up, and where to get the supplies. There are different options for how to build a home batting cage depending on how much you want to spend and the effort and space required.
Probably the easiest way of setting up a batting cage is to order a frame kit with all of the pieces and parts and a batting cage net kit. That way there is no design or engineering required, just some space planning and some elbow grease. This type of batting cage is costly and more permanent, but will last for years and require very little maintenance.
The first thing you will need to figure out is what kind of floor you want your batting cage to have. You could lay down some artificial turf which makes a really nice floor, or you could go the budget route and just have a dirt floor, which is completely acceptable. The drawbacks to a dirt floor are that dust always gets on everything and after it rains, it will be muddy until the dirt dries, possibly preventing you from using it. You could also put down some rubber flooring like they make mats out of, or even sports court material. Concrete is another option, but it’s pretty pricey.
Next, you will have to decide whether you want a more permanent home batting cage, or one that you can move around and possibly transport to other locations. There are many different options to choose from, including home batting cage packages that have all of the pieces included.
Permanent Home Batting Cage
This 70′ x 10′ Fortress Batting Cage comes with everything you need to get an awesome set up in your yard. The poles are galvanized steel and the net is a high-quality, weather-proof, UV treated mesh that won’t rot. These kits are also available in different sizes at Amazon.com.
If you decide to go this route, you will also want to get some rubber backstops to hang at the ends to diffuse the missed balls. A protective L-Screen is also a must-have accessory for your batting cage. This is the screen you stand behind while pitching and it protects you from getting hit with the ball.
Another great accessory for your batting cage is a pitching machine. These can be very expensive, so you will have to decide whether you want a pitching machine that throws real baseballs and softballs, or one that throws poly balls. Seeing real balls pitched is the best, but those machines are the most expensive.
Pitching Machines
This is an example of a high end pitching machine that throws real balls, and it’s a baseball fanatic’s dream. This machine can throw multiple pitches from 45 – 90 mph and can pitch a fastball, split-finger, slider and curve. It also comes with a 5-year warranty.
Another type of pitching machine you could go with uses poly-type balls instead of real baseballs and softballs, and these machines are considerably less expensive. This machine is very portable and has some nice options including simulating both right and left-hand pitches, and has a 360-degree movement to throw fly balls, ground balls, and pop ups. This saves a lot of wear and tear on your arm for practices.
Accessories
A couple of additional items you will need for your batting cage are a home plate stance mat and a home plate.
Also, if you plan on doing your own pitching, I would highly recommend a ball basket like this one to increase your productivity and save your back.
Batting Cage Kit
Another way you could go is to order a kit like this that includes all the batting cage hardware you need except for the poles which are expensive to ship. You can get those at your local home store.
This is a great option because you don’t have to worry about putting together the correct size frame and net. It comes with all of the corners, caps and screws, and you can order the net separately.
These frames and nets are available in different sizes, so make sure you order the correct net to fit on your frame.
This is another really nice batting cage kit with everything you need including all of the parts to build your own batting cage. It comes with heavy-duty powder coated heavy-duty steel tubing and a UV treated net. It’s advertised as easily movable which makes it very convenient.
Most reviewers give it 5 stars.
Portable Batting Cage
There are also simpler ways to set up a batting cage in your yard or other area. For example, you could use one of these portable net batting cages that set up easily, and are very inexpensive. This kit comes with the cage and a pitching machine at a great price.
Inflatable Batting Cage
This is a brand new inflatable model of batting cage that can be made in different colors and comes in a 40′ x 12′ x 10′ size. I don’t know much about this type of batting cage but it sure looks cool. There are some used ones available as well. This is just one of the many inflatable batting cages for sale. Awesome!
Batting Cage Ideas
Here are a few photos of homemade batting cage ideas that show some creative setups using narrow spaces. Some of these can be made with your own framing, and you can even make a homemade batting cage frame with PVC pipe and you can just order the netting to your size specifications. A photo of a PVC batting cage is shown below. A couple of these are the best home batting cages I’ve ever seen.
If you are interested in building your own batting cage, you can buy a batting net here, and this baseball website has some good info and plans for how to build a batting cage and even some plans for building a PVC batting cage frame.
My neighbor recently started installing this large batting cage in his backyard and he hasn’t really been able to find a net that fit around the structure he’s built. I really liked that you had mentioned that finding a net that is extremely durable is really important so that it can stay strong year round, I don’t even think my neighbor has thought about what he’ll do in the winter. I’ll be passing this along to him to let him know that finding a durable net is important so that it will last a lot longer, I think he’ll have to have a custom net made to fit the structure he’s built.
He may have to have one custom made, but there are several different sizes you can order. I have some links on my page for different companies that carry them if you want to refer him to it. Thanks for visiting! 🙂
I was wondering what brand the pitching machine is in the first image? Any help would be much appreciated
Hi there. I believe that is a Homeplate pitching machine like this newer model: http://amzn.to/2FV1dDt. I’ve also seen them used like this one: https://goo.gl/XTa9D9
You have to really be into baseball to construct something like this. Some of these are very impressive and a lot of work.
I would worry that my child may decide they don’t want to play baseball any more and I’m stuck with it.
On the other hand, we are a soccer family and I would construct something for soccer if I had the room
Hi Stew, you’re right…that’s a lot of work to put in to have your kid lose interest. These are probably more for the travel ball family who already knows their kid is committed. 🙂
Wow! What a great idea, I would have never thought of building my own batting cage! I really like the look of the inflatable one so that it can easily be moved around and even taken to friends houses or down to the park. Would you recommend this over the other portable batting cage? You dont mention how easy that one is to transport in a car. Thanks
Well, the inflatable one is huge so it’s not that portable. The best thing to use for portability is a BowNet type of net. It’s great for warm ups and tee work. 🙂
Love all the info on this page.
What kind of cage do you recommend if I want to put one in the backyard but would need to drop it down or at least be able to move the frame since it’s not allowed by my HOA..
I want to put one my son can use but then be able to maybe drop the frame or somehow lay it down and still be able to use it daily without taking a good bit of time to set back up.
Hmmm…that’s a really good question. Most of the framed ones I’ve seen don’t that easy to take down. They’re more permanent. I’ll need to think on that one.
My son is absolutely bonkers about baseball and taking him to the batting cages is a pretty big hassle. I’d love to get something setup in our back yard that is more accessible so we aren’t driving him all over the place all the time.
That being said I’m not very mechanically inclined and all I have is basically a hammer and a power drill lying around the house. What kind of tools will I need to put something like this together if I buy a fully out of the box kit? Or would you recommend looking into something like a TaskRabbit or even an Angies List to get a qualified handy man to put it up?
Very interesting question. Now that TaskRabbit is an option, this would be a great way to have a cage set up for non-handy people, and I should also add that info to my post. I don’t think they’re very hard to set up if you have the time. 🙂
This was really interesting and I never knew there was so many different types of batting cages available.
I think it’s goid as it gives everyone a chance to find what suits their budget.
There is nothing like getting in the nets of s traditional batting cage however the inflatable cave gives a really useful choice if you haven’t the space for a permanent net in your garden.
Thanks, I really like the inflatable option too. 🙂
Hi Shannon,
I find this kind of equipment very interesting. It’s so cool that you can bring it to your home.
I never played baseball, but I watched some matches on the TV and when I see this – easy to use, I’m interested in buying it. It would be a good practise and it looks like fun. It is great that it has net so that the ball always stays in. I will keep this as an option and bookmark this page. 🙂
Thanks,
Strahinja
Thanks so much for visiting! 🙂
Wow,interesting post. My school started to build baseball batting cage but it has been a year because the headmaster didn’t know where to buy accessories. I am happy that i found you and i got the link i will try to refer him to amazone link i found here to order those accessories.
THANK YOU
That’s awesome. A batting cage is a great addition to a well-rounded training for a baseball team. 🙂
I am a big fan of batting cages for a controlled practice. I especially like the inflatable batting cage you list here. I saw one recently at a community event and it was a big hit so to speak with the kids. The one thing I will advise is for cost cutters to not worry as much about cost on pitching machines for their batting cage. You can save money on the quality of practice and fewer trips to local cages but a pro-grade machine is needed.
Thanks so much for visiting my page and for your tip. 🙂
Great article. We have a batting cage in our backyard but within the past year the grass in that area has become more like mud. Do you have any information on the pictures that show turf floors? How that would need to be installed so that the turf doesn’t become muddy and wet as well? Thanks
I hope you received my email regarding your question. I don’t have info on turf floors, but that’s a great idea for something to add to my blog post. 🙂
So glad to see all of the ideas. We are renovating a home now and one of the drivers for purchasing the home and lot was that it allows space to build a proper batting cage. We have been using a net at home for some time now, but unbeknownst to me (apparently, my husband and kids knew) it has a hole. Well, as you can imagine one of those “home runs” made it through the net and right into my kitchen window! Thank goodness for double pane glass. So, I’m keen to have a stronger net and likely a full cage this time. Several of your comments here have convinced me to definitely go with an artificial turf too, though I’m still debating on the actual size. Hoping 45′ to 50′ in length and 10′ to 2′ in width is an appropriate amount of space?
That sounds like a perfect size and I’m assuming you mean 10′ to 12′ width. I’m envious that you have the space for a setup like this. 😉
Hi. We want our boys to be able to practice outside all winter – we obviously can’t go indoors this year. Any ideas how to tarp one of these cages and add an outdoor heater so they can comfortably hit all winter long in the Northeast?
I think it would be possible to put tarps over the poles of one of the regular pole cages and loop them together to form an enclosed area. I’ve also seen a lot of people set up Bownets in their garage and do soft toss.