Big League Eyes

Baseball Hitting Aid Review

I have recently had the opportunity to test out the Big League Eyes visual hitting aid. They are basically stickers that are to be put on practice poly or "wiffle" balls, and used in hitting drills to enhance your ability to track the ball from the pitcher all the way to the bat while keeping a "quiet head" and your eyes locked on the baseball. The product is based off the theory presented in the Harold Reynolds video, How MLB hitters track the ball. They come in the colors of red, blue, and green in sheets of 32. Four eyes go on each ball.

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Big League Eyes

Disclaimer: I was not paid to give this review. Any opinions I share here are strictly my own.

The purpose of this article is not to sell you on this idea of vision training (although I do believe in it, after using some of the eyes). I'll leave that mostly to the Big League Eyes Company, and Harold Reynolds. Mainly, I am just testing out the product itself to see if it worth investing your money into.

Big League Eyes

Applying the "Eyes"

There is a video on YouTube, and instructions on their website explaining how to apply the Big League Eyes, so I followed those, including heating them in the oven after applying. 225 degrees for 5 minutes.

Big League Eyes

Although I had received enough eyes to make up 24 balls (8 of each color), for testing purposes I just decided to test out 12. Really for no other reason than the package of balls I bought only had 12, so that's all I used.

Testing the Eyes

Although there are entire practice routines laid out for you at the Big League Eyes website, I mainly chose to do their soft toss routine of receiving tossed balls from the side and behind me. I started out using testing them on a set of balls that I picked up from our local K-Mart, and a standard big barrel wood bat. Then I took some cuts using the SKLZ Quick Stick (Albert Pujols endorsed).

Right off the bat (pardon the pun), I could see how this theory of vision training can help improve your ability to track a ball into the strike zone and help you make solid contact with the ball. Using a normal sized wood bat, the eyes stayed on the balls very well. Even with the Quick Stick, they did stay on the ball very well, and after hitting several balls I only noticed one time that one of my red eye stickers started to peel a bit. After applying it back to the ball, it has stayed on. However, it turns out that there is a better way to perform the drill than what I was using.

Make Sure You Use Good Balls

After discussion with Bradley (the owner of the company) we determined that the way to get maximum life out of the eyes (and balls) is to use them on higher quality poly balls (such as the ones supplied with the Personal Pitcher) and place the eyes on the open spaces midway between the equator and the poles. Their YouTube videos properly demonstrate how to do this.

This all sounds a little confusing, but the bottom line is this...make sure you're putting the eyes on good thick poly balls, and not the "cheap-o" balls that are available at most department stores. Go down to the local golf shop and get some good ones. Or order some online. Just avoid the cheapies if you can, because they dent.

Conclusion

All in all, I am a fan of the Big League Eyes. The concept of vision training is a no brainer. If guys like Harold Reynolds are supporting this training method, than I'm sure it's worth your while to spend some of your practice routine focusing on these drills.

As far as the Big League Eyes go, they are going to be a no brainer as well, especially as cheap as they are. ($8 to make 24 balls, and cheaper if you buy more). Some of them will come off over time with abuse and wear, but they still take a pretty good beating. Get some, put them on, train your eyes, hit like a big leaguer!

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