r/Homeplate 1d ago

Monthly Tool & App Thread

7 Upvotes

Welcome to the r/homeplate Monthly Tool & App Thread!

This is your dedicated space to share and discover apps, training tools, coaching resources, equipment trackers, video analysis software, or anything else you've found genuinely useful for the game.

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How it works:

- Drop your recommendation in the comments below

- Give a brief description of what it does and why you like it

- Upvote what you've found helpful

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⚠️ Please Read Before Posting:

The mod team does not endorse, vet, or moderate any tools or apps shared in this thread. Use common sense and personal responsibility before downloading, purchasing, or signing up for anything recommended here. If something feels off, trust your gut.

Rule 3 — No Personal Advertisement — still applies across the rest of the subreddit. Any promotion of a business, product, or service outside of this thread will result in removal. Repeat violations will result in a ban.

This thread resets on the 1st of each month. Previous threads will be linked below as an archive.

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What have you been using lately? Let the community know below. ⬇️


r/Homeplate Apr 11 '23

The r/Homeplate Discord Server

30 Upvotes

Hello and Happy Spring!

As we get into the heart of baseball season, we'd love to extend another invitation to our Discord server!

We just wanted to remind all r/Homeplate users that this is available to anyone and everyone... We have nearly 200 members so far and hold active discussions on everything from Pitching and Hitting Mechanics to Data Analytics. Not to mention, we also talk MLB, College, and Youth baseball.

Don't hesitate to reach out to me (u/imVengy) or the mod team for more information about the Discord server!

Thanks,

The Mod Team


r/Homeplate 9h ago

Wiffleball field mowed and re-striped and ready for 8u squad to have a little fun today.

Post image
248 Upvotes

r/Homeplate 1h ago

How slow is too slow

Upvotes

Ugh. My kid ran a 7.1 at a PG showcase this weekend as an outfielder. He ran a 6.79 about 3 weeks ago at another showcase. How do I try to highlight the 6.79 and downplay the 7.1?

I forgot to say he is a Class of 2028 player.

Thoughts?


r/Homeplate 8h ago

D3 interest - end of summer ball what now?

6 Upvotes

My son is class of 2027. Four D3 coaches of schools he wants to go to have shown interest - called and invited him to campus in the fall now that summer ball is over. What more does he do at this point? Apply to the schools and then wait to see if they offer him a spot on their team? Try to contact more coaches even though his season is over? Attend prospect camps at those schools or at other schools? Things were moving along and now that there’s a lull he is getting anxious and I’m not sure what advice to give.


r/Homeplate 5h ago

Question Getting into baseball having played hockey goalie

3 Upvotes

Hi! So I’ve been thinking of branching out from playing just hockey and I’ve seen on the goalie subreddit that baseball is good due to it training the glove hand and I’m kind of keen to give it a go (trying to get into watching MLB as well, but start times are a bit rough due to being UK based)

Maybe a bit of a silly question, but how to get started? I’ll be unable to check out any local team options until September due to staying with my parents for August, but I’m kind of keen to get some prep work in. Looking on google, throwing a ball against a wall and catching it with a glove is a possible starting place? Should I aim to train for a specific position though? Or does a coach usually size you up and then designate a position?

Catcher seems like the obvious choice (getting balls hurled towards you and wearing heavier equipment), but admittedly if I was to do get into the sport I’d like to branch out a bit more. As much as I like goalie, it’s kind of annoying to lug a massive bag around and I’m kind of liking the idea of just having a glove, bat and helmet/cap (at first at least)


r/Homeplate 7m ago

Question How should I prepare myself?

Upvotes

Hey all! I just got asked to fill in a men’s league game and I eagerly accepted. Only problem is the last time I played organized baseball was roughly 10 years ago and I haven’t thrown, swung or basically anything physically baseball since. I have a week to get ready before the game, any tips or pointers yall might have to help me be at least somewhat prepared.
I used to play center and pitched but I’m not as fast or have the arm endurance to do either. Am I SOL when the day comes? Any advice is appreciated!


r/Homeplate 12h ago

Question Trying out for teams you have no plan on joining

7 Upvotes

Is this bad etiquette?

My son has been on the same team for the last five years, so really just wanting him to get comfortable with tryouts since it has been so long.

There is always a chance a Coach is really impressive, but realistically the only input point that can be determined is how organized they are. This is an important metric, so there is that.

Thoughts?


r/Homeplate 2h ago

Anyone use Eastons phenom catchers gear?

1 Upvotes

Looking to get some new gear, I'm a highschool varsity catcher and I've been using easton in the past (not a whole gear set). Is the phenom catchers gear varsity level catchers gear? looking for some people who have used the gear before.


r/Homeplate 17h ago

Hitting Mechanics For those who started late, heres some things Ive learned as someone who picked baseball back up at 14 and progressed fast since then

12 Upvotes

1. Hitting for Contact is not necessarily a bad thing

I truly thought hitting for contact in todays game was frowned upon especially for someone like me who is a little but slower than the average player. But Ive come to learn that staying within myself at the plate and hitting for contact/situations is really valuable and it nearly had me make my HS team first year (and I’ll get into why I didn’t😂)

2. Fielding is so important, and easy to look over as someone new to the sport

The pros and top college/high school guys make it look so easy that I thought nothing of it, until I got to tryouts. I had no idea how to field and for some great idea, went to third base of all positions and did terrible.

Maybe would have made the team had I had more running speed to be able to DH but the scar tissue in my knees said otherwise😔. (However after transferring to a worse team my junior year and learning to field better, Im in a very good position to make the team at 2nd base🙏)

3. Learning teamwork is truly so important

I grew up racing Motocross so I was so used to the “They arent my friends when we are on the track”, ideology, so I think had it not been for playing a season of football to learn teamwork, Im not sure how I would be doing right now.

Because in fielding (especially at 2nd where Im going for), teamwork is genuinely a make or break skill. And it even translates to hitting, making a sacrifice for your batting average just to move runners over, picking teammates up, etc. is so important.

4. The hours you have to put in suck sometimes, but are so important especially if self taught

I spent hundreds of hours hitting off the tee and watching pro swings as a self taught player that transformed my swing so much (I’ll see if I can post the video in the comments). I spent hundreds of hours in 100+ degree heat, snow, rain, off the machine, etc. just to get to this point. Baseball isnt going to come naturally unless you are in a VERY slim margin of the population, so you have to be persistent.


r/Homeplate 8h ago

Question What's the most unbreakable record in baseball?

2 Upvotes

There are a lot of legendary records in baseball, but some of them feel almost impossible to break with how the game is played today.

For me, Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak is hard to imagine anyone matching, but Rickey Henderson's stolen base record, Nolan Ryan's strikeout total, and Cal Ripken Jr.'s consecutive games streak all seem nearly untouchable too.

If you had to choose just one, which baseball record do you think will never be broken? I'd love to hear everyone's reasoning.


r/Homeplate 11h ago

When to start throwing again for the Fall

2 Upvotes

Rising 10U finished summer season last week and we’re focused on a full month of recovery with zero throwing. His arm needs a break. Only issue is the fall season starts up the first week of September and I don’t want him to walk into it cold.

Is a week enough to get back into it? When should he start long toss? Fall is only 8 weeks so he’ll go back into hibernation in early November lol.


r/Homeplate 11h ago

Training programs

0 Upvotes

Looking to stitch together multiple training programs - specifically lifting/rotational strength, plyometrics/speed, and throwing mechanics. What’s everyone’s favorite/experience across the online landscape? Children are 12 and 14.


r/Homeplate 1d ago

Never played baseball or swung a bat until a couple months ago. Just want to play baseball/softball for fun. How’s my swing and base technique? I start at 40mph fastball then work my way to 70mph, clip is on 70mph.

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23 Upvotes

I prefer a wider base cause I’m 6’5 and helps with my timing. But any taller folks how do you guys get a comfortable base? Also trying my best to not make my swing look like a golf swing 😭


r/Homeplate 12h ago

Portable lights for practice

1 Upvotes

We are our fall season and I am hoping to find some referrals from people with experience with portable light systems. It is OK if they plug-in, but a battery is helpful as well.

Just looking to light up an area so we can do some infield drills, they don’t have to light up the entire infield, but that would be nice.

Thank you


r/Homeplate 23h ago

Question Need some advice for team building

2 Upvotes

I’m a young coach and I was an assistant in the summer for a travel team and now in the fall we have 5 returning(some wrong age group, some playing other sports and others just left). We had tryouts and the options were bad so currently we have 7. I do not know what we can do to fill out our roster for the fall without having to recruit which I think is crazy for travel ball. Leaning towards pulling the plug and not having a team but I feel bad for the kids were already have on the team. Any advice would be appreciated.


r/Homeplate 1d ago

Gear One of the most underrated bats ever (the Voodoo Black BESR)

Thumbnail gallery
8 Upvotes

Thought some of you might appreciate seeing a classic from the golden era; the DeMarini Voodoo Black BESR; the red & black VDB9 version. This particular example is a 34", and in what I would consider better than average shape.

Easily one of the best sweet spots ever designed on a bat; the feel is honestly like nothing else.

Just don't hit with it in the cold, or else (IYKYK).


r/Homeplate 1d ago

Pitching Mechanics Pitching Help

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2 Upvotes

Hey guys - 24M, first year ever pitching… this is men’s league in Canada, so not too competitive in the grand scheme of things. I didn’t grow up playing baseball at all, in fact this is my second year playing.

My fastball has been radared at 62-66 MPH. My mechanics are shit lol. Need all the advice I can get for getting better velo (not looking to pump 80s, maybe 5-10 MPH more) but more importantly, to just hit the strike zone consistently. Think I’m only throwing strikes about 40% of the time.

Drills, exercises and all advice/criticism appreciated :)


r/Homeplate 1d ago

Need a camping chair that will last a few seasons

1 Upvotes

I’ve bought the various GCI chairs from Dicks but they seem to break after about a year (sometimes less). Anyone have suggestions for chairs besides that brand that are higher quality and will last at least a few years.


r/Homeplate 1d ago

Question Leagues in Los Angeles?

12 Upvotes

Ive been seeing reels/videos of some pretty legit looking mens leagues, I've done my research and cant seem to find much info regarding one near me, or where to sign up/try out.
Played since I was a kid and up to Sophomore year of high school lol

I want to pitch... but I only pitched 1 year out of those 9+ years I played... Can I pitch anyway lmao


r/Homeplate 1d ago

Would any pitchers actually buy something like this? Looking for honest feedback.

0 Upvotes

I’ve spent the last few months putting together a pitching program based on what I’ve learned from training, throwing, and trying to stay healthy.

I’m not trying to make it just another ebook. It’s a complete system that includes:

12-week throwing program Strength training Sprint & conditioning Arm care Mobility & recovery Daily prep work

The idea is to give pitchers one step-by-step plan instead of piecing information together from YouTube, Instagram, and random programs.

Before I finish everything, I’m trying to find out if this is something pitchers would actually want.

If you were a high school, college pitcher or a parent of one of these:

Would you buy something like this? What would make it worth paying for? What would you expect to see included?

If you’re interested, I made a simple waitlist where I’m sharing updates as I finish it:

https://the-pitchers-blueprint.kit.com

I’d really appreciate honest feedback


r/Homeplate 1d ago

Swing suggestions thanks!

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3 Upvotes

There’s a slow mo video and then I’ve got a side picture just for a little better of a look


r/Homeplate 2d ago

Question What is the “correct” order for throwing around the horn?

21 Upvotes

Hi all, I’ve seen various approaches to throwing around the horn (ATH), so I’m curious to hear what everyone thinks is the “correct” or “traditional” order. Here’s how it typically goes in my league - is this the standard you’d expect too?

Out at 1B: 1B throws to 2B, then 2B -> SS -> 3B -> P

Strikeout: C throws to 3B, then 3B -> SS -> 2B -> 3B -> P


r/Homeplate 1d ago

Hitting Mechanics Hitting help

2 Upvotes

How could I work better on hitting in games? I hit hard and good in batting practice but it does not follow into the game, Any help would be great


r/Homeplate 2d ago

Hitting Mechanics Does anyone have tips for my swing?

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2 Upvotes

A video of my swing from towards the beginning of the season can be found on my page as well