The History of the Pitching Machine By Jay Jenkins

Introduction:

The pitching machine was first invented in the late 1800’s by Charles Hinton. He created a hand fed pitching machine that served up pitches for the hitters. The machine can pitch in many different speeds and angles.




Discovery:

Charles Hinton made this invention in 1897. He was a scientist at Princeton University. Hinton made the pitching machine for the Princeton Tiger’s baseball team. This allowed the players to work on an assortment of pitches that they might see in a game. At first, the invention seemed to be a great contribution until the power of the machine caused several injuries. The Princeton baseball team stopped using it because of the injuries but never the less; Hilton’s pitching machine was a big breakthrough.

Investigator:

It was safe to say that Charles Hinton was a man of science and math. He wrote Science Fiction and taught mathematics and science at the schools he was employed. Hinton hit a couple of speed bumps in his life along the way. He was accused of being married to two women at one time, which was eventually proven true. Some say a lot of the reason he was let go from the Princeton University staff was due to his invention, the pitching machine, causing so many injuries. Years later, Hinton showed the pitching machine to University of Michigan and received positive feedback. This is what really got his invention “off the ground”. Charles Hinton died in 1907 due to cerebral hemorrhage.




Impact on Humanity:

Pitching Machines have definitely affected the game of baseball. It has allowed players to improve their skills by trying to hit any pitches thrown whether it be a fastball, curveball, slider or change-up. The pitching machine is able to pitch all of these pitches. It is used in both baseball and softball in leagues from little league to the Major Leagues. Also, since pitching machines move through in such a rapid fire sequence, sometimes you can turn it upside down and quickly send out the baseballs in the form of a ground ball for a fielder. This allows fielder to get a lot of practice quicker. Oppose to if a coach was slowly hitting a fielder groundballs one after another.



Journal Articles:

“History of Pitching Machines” is a good article. It compares and relates to how far the machine has come. It shows how colleges and high school teams use it and find it very productive. It explains how different the original model is compared to the models beings created today. There are so many different versions of pitching machines that helps a majority of teams. This is why the pitching machine is in such high demand when it comes to the baseball world.


Eldred, Eric (1996) “Charles H. Hinton”

(2009) “The History of the Pitching Machine”

Rivers, Dacia (2010) “History of the Pitching Machine”