Emmet Neff-Mcgready is fundraising
Support Urban Baseball
Want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money to benefit Baltimore Urban Baserball Association, and any donation will help make an impact. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to me.
More information about Baltimore Urban Baserball Association: Home of America's 1st FREE baseball/softball training facility. The mission this grassroots organization is to enhance the quality of life for Baltimore City children, youth, and young adults by teaching, coaching, mentoring and educating through baseball as a means to supplement education obtained in local schools. Our mission is to rejuvenate the game of baseball and softball in Baltimore City while cultivating cultural diversity and youth development in all aspects of the game.
The iPitch pitching machine is the newest and most advanced technology on the market- and will have a great effect on the growth and success of BUBA Baseball and it's mission.
It is by far the most durable product on the market, will never be outdated, and will be a mainstay at Buba for the foreseeable future. This machine can be updated and programmed from an app on your phone, has MLB 16 pitchers built-in, and can throw 140 different factory-programmed pitches, including fastballs up to 100 mph and 3000 rpm curveballs. If you get bored with their 140 pitches, you can even program your own pitches and adjust every small little detail to see any type of pitch imaginable.
The iPitch is something that almost no colleges have and would be the only one in the area, possibly in the state. How awesome would it be to be able to give that advantage to underprivileged kids for free use?
Although more expensive than other machines, the price is a steal given its versatility, durability, and value to our organization.
1. Program Enhancement
This machine will produce big leaguers right in our backyard. It is almost impossible to simulate at bats, and no matter how much tee work and coach pitch you do, it can only do so much to help you hit live pitching. Many of our athletes have gotten late starts and have more informal baseball experience, and have not gotten nearly as many chances to hit live pitching as most kids their age. This machine will allow them to see random pitches in specific locations and realistic trajectories, which will help greatly to catch up to their peers. The random sequence feature will allow the hitter to experience the variability and randomness of a real at bat, aims itself, and only takes about 6 seconds to switch between pitches. You can also program any sequence you would like, with control over the location, speed, spin rate, and other variables to work on specific aspects of your game. I have been around baseball for more than 40 years, been on a college world series team, and been drafted, and this is the best and most comprehensive piece of equipment I have seen to simulate at-bats and get comfortable with game speed.
2. Program Expansion
As we look to start our new STEM program this summer through a partnership with the Society for American Baseball Reseach, it is important to mention this product's value as a teaching tool. The iPitch machine has so many uses and abilities from a baseball training standpoint, but would also allow us to incorporate another aspect of analytics into our teaching. It automatically keeps track of everything you tell it to do, including every pitch it throws, every sequence it is programmed, and the velocity and spin rate. This will allow our student athletes to be more hands on with their training and learning, and should help them stay more focused, interested, and engaged. This will help them get the most out of the STEM program and will be a tool for them to learn how to understand and analyze their numbers and data, which will help them take away useful information for their own baseball careers and for the rest of their lives. The skills they will learn can be applied in many different ways and will be helpful for school and applicable to a great variety of jobs and careers.
3. Sports Training Market
As BUBA membership has grown, the entirely free model has become unsustainable. The facility is still free for more than 600 Baltimore City kids, and that number is growing greatly by the day. Our facility provides us a great opportunity to bring in kids from the county and surrounding areas who are willing to pay to use the space and equipment. Cutting-edge technology such as the iPitch, which is not available anywhere else, would attract more and more people who would be willing and able to pay a membership fee, which would allow us to expand our free programs and provide us a lot more freedom to help the underserved youth of Baltimore city. Although this machine is quite expensive, it will make itself back and then some in expanded membership and increased interest in facility use by local leagues, high schools, and colleges.
Baltimore City schools produce each year, on average, just one athlete continuing their baseball career in college. The last professional baseball player drafted from a Baltimore City school was in 2000, 23 years ago. We want to change that, and the iPitch machine will help greatly to get the very most out of our athletes and allow them to go above and beyond what anyone thought was possible for a Baltimore City kid. With your help, 23 years from now the iPitch will still be at BUBA, churning out high-level baseball players at a rate the city has never seen before.
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