Baseball Playoffs, Pitching Machines, and Delta Electro Power.

Fenway Park: Home of the Boston Red Sox

Photo Credit: Ryan Szepan - http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutterstops/4129722438/

It's October! Baseball playoffs are in full swing and fans all over are sitting at the edge of their seats anxiously anticipating the release of every pitch. It’s been said that the most difficult task to accomplish in professional sports is the ability to hit a Major League fastball. Players batting with a .300 average are considered to be above average hitters even though they are failing 7 out of 10 times to achieve their goal.  Learning the craft of baseball is anything but instant gratification. It takes time, commitment, moments of frustration and streakiness, endless groundballs on the diamond, and hours of ripping line drives in the cage (after beginning with two or three bunts to warm up.)


So where does this all begin for a professional baseball player, or any player for that matter? Well, before a father takes his child to the cages, it starts with companies like Delta Electro Power. The complexity of a standard pitching machine and the motor that runs it is often overlooked by coaches and ball players alike. Understandably because we’d much rather work on ‘seeing the ball long’ on an outside fastball rather than discuss the intricacies of a pitching machine. Nevertheless, motor experts, like those at Delta Electro Power, spend time understanding the complex details of electric motors so players like David Ortiz can work on pulling an inside fastball 450 feet for a home run. 

A pitching machine’s most valuable component is its DC (direct current) electric motor. In its most basic application, both AC and DC motors convert electrical energy into mechanical energy.  The DC motor featured on pitching machines uses an AC-to-DC power converter or drive. This is because the speed of a DC motor is controlled by fluctuating the armature winding’s voltage which creates variable speed adjustments. Thus, allowing baseball players to adjust the speeds on a pitching machine by simply turning the dial. 

                                Photo credit: www.cvel.clemson.edu

If you feel the agony of your team being eliminated, chances are those players could use an extra swing or two in the cages.  So the next time you take your child to the cages or see Dustin Pedroia warming up before the ALCS, remember that time you read a cool blog about pitching machines and how they contributed to your enjoyment as a baseball enthusiast.

GO SOX!!!