ESCONDIDO, Calif. (KGTV) — Escondido was in need of a batting cage facility for local baseball and softball players. Now they have one located in the North County Mall. It's called Dingers, and it's not your typical batting cage.
"I fell in love with the tech that Pro-Batter and HitTrax has. All the cool things that really help propel baseball players in the new era," says Dingers owner Frank Garcia.
The first thing you notice about the batting cages at Dingers is the video screen of a pitcher throwing the baseball.
"It's a simulated pitcher pitching machine," says Garcia. "It will show release point and it has 20 different pitches, and throws at speeds from 40 to 100 miles and hour."
You step into the batters box, and hitters get the feeling like they are in a real game.
"It's helping me a lot with hitting the ball and seeing the motion," says youth player Eli Cervantes.
"The fastest speed I hit here is 70 miles per hour," says 8-year-old Francis Garcia.
The pitches are controlled with touch screen outside the cage and behind the hitter.
"You can control where the baseball is to be pitched," says Garcia. "You can control the speed right here and you can do pitch sequences like fastball, curve ball, and slider."
It's not just for standard batting practice. Teams can hit and play a nine inning game.
"I'm definitely going more for the entertainment value. I'd like to be the Top Golf of baseball and softball. It's for anyone who wants to come in and hit the ball and fall in love with the game."
