Review of Granada Pitching Machines
The Granada pitching machines are some of the earliest pitching machines known to the game of baseball. There is a lot of history behind this training aid. Norm Bruce invented the Granada pitching machine in 1960, and sold his first one in 1965.
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It is a 2-wheel model that only throws wiffle balls, or "poly-balls." I'll just call them wiffle balls for the sake of this article. The great thing about these machines is that they can throw wiffle balls up to 70 mph. That's not bad for wiffle balls. The fact that the Granada pitching machines DO NOT throw regular weighted baseballs is part of their marketing message, promoting the idea that as youngsters practice with lightweight balls, it removes their fear of being hit by a heavy baseball. They claim that this improves "internalization" of hitting by eliminating the task of worrying about getting hit by the ball, allowing them to strictly focus on hitting the ball.
Granada promotes that their machines allow a hitter to get a
very high number of cuts, further improving the internalization of
their swing. Since the machines use wiffle balls, they can be used
easily in the backyard, without the use of a batting cage or a net.
Teams from the northern parts of the U.S. who use these machines have
reported improvements in their hitters due to the fact that they can
use the machines in indoor facilities such as a gym during the cold
winter months.
Granada V & 390
The two high end models of Granada pitching machines are the V and the 390. They throw in the 60-70 mph range, and feature what is called their change up feature. This allows unannounced change ups to be thrown to the hitter creating a more realistic at bat experience. There are two wheels which can be ran at separate speeds and rotated to throw curves, sinkers, sliders, screwballs, or whatever other pitch you can come up with. The only drawback to these machines is that they are a bit pricy. The V will run you $979, and the 390 will costs $839 from the Granada's Official Website.
Granada IIIb
The IIIb model is similar to the others but only throws in the 40-45 mph range, and the wheels do not rotate. It also does not feature the change up feature. It is however, less expensive as it only costs $469.
Summary
The Granada pitching machines have been known to improve many teams batting averages over the years, allowing ballplayers to get plenty of cuts and reduce fear of being hit by the baseball in youngsters. With the versatility of being able to use the machines indoors, and the ability to throw a wide variety of pitches, they should be among your top considerations if you are in the market for a quality built machine that throws wiffle or "poly" balls.
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