History
In 1897, mathematics instructor Charles Hinton designed a gunpowder-powered baseball pitching machine for the Princeton University baseball team's batting practice. According to one source it caused several injuries, and may have been in part responsible for the death of 7 baseball players that year. However, the machine was versatile: it was capable of throwing variable speeds with an adjustable breech size and firing curve balls by the use of two rubber coated steel fingers at the muzzle of the pitcher. Hinton successfully introduced the machine to the University of Minnesota where he worked as an assistant professor until 1900.
The arm-type pitching machine was designed by Paul Giovagnoli in 1952, for use on his driving range. Using a metal arm mounted to a large gear, this type of machine simulates the motion of an actual pitcher, throwing balls with consistent speed and direction. Mass production of this design began in 1976, with the founding of Master Pitching Machine .
Read more about this topic: Pitching Machine
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