Baseball trainer

Trainer and game apparatus for use by a person practicing fielding by catching a propelled ball and throwing it toward said target means, comprising:

• means for propelling a ball toward the person, said propelling means including start means for generating a start signal in response to the ball being propelled, said propelling means further including target means for generating a stop signal in response to arrival of the ball at a target location associated with the propelling means after the ball has been caught by the person and thrown to the target means;
• computer means connected to said start means and to said target means and receptive of said start signal and said stop signal, and operative for measuring the time elapsed between the generation of the start signal and the generation of the stop signal;
• and
• reporting means connected to said computer means for reporting to the person information relating to the elapsed time;
• and
• wherein the person catches the propelled ball and throws the ball toward the target means, and wherein said computer means measures the time elapsed between the generation of the start signal and the generation of the stop signal to determine a fielding time for the person's catching and throwing of the ball.

A method for practicing the throwing of a ball by a person toward a target, wherein the person practices throwing by pitching to the target from a predetermined distance, the method comprising the steps of:

• starting an elapsed-time timer at the instant the ball is thrown by the person toward the target, wherein the starting the timer step includes sensing the shifting of the person's weight from his or her back foot to his or her front foot, the back foot corresponding to the throwing arm of the person and the front foot corresponding to the arm opposite from the throwing arm;
• stopping the elapsed-time timer at the instant the ball hits the target;
• calculating the elapsed time;
• calculating an approximate speed of the pitched ball by dividing the distance by the elapsed time;
• and
• reporting to the person information relating to the elapsed time, including reporting the speed of the pitched ball.

A method for practicing the throwing of a ball by a person toward a target, wherein the person practices fielding by catching the ball and throwing the ball to the target, the method comprising the steps of:

• starting an elapsed-time timer at the instant the ball is thrown by a ball return apparatus toward the person;
• running the elapsed-time timer during the time the ball is traveling toward the person from the ball return apparatus, during the time the ball is being caught and thrown by the person, and during the time the ball is traveling toward the target after being thrown by the person;
• stopping the elapsed-time timer at the instant the ball hits the target after the ball is thrown toward the target by the person;
• calculating the elapsed time, wherein the elapsed time includes the time for the ball to travel from the ball return apparatus to the person, and the time for the person to catch the ball and throw the ball back to the target;
• and
• reporting information relating to the elapsed time to the person.