Franklin SportsKids Baseball Pitching Machine - Pop A Pitch Baseball Batting Machine with Youth Bat + 3 Plastic Baseballs - Boys + Girls Baseball Toy,Red/Blue

This thing is amazing. My 4-year-old son was interested in hitting balls and my wife would throw an inflatable ball to him and he would hit it with a plastic hammer. I was interested in upgrading their "sports equipment" so I took a chance on this. So far, he loves it! I'll admit, as an adult, I enjoy using it too but I just have to be careful not to hit the balls too hard. The step-button is a little stiff to depress for a 4-year-old but once he got the hang of it, it wasn't so bad. Because of his size, after he steps on the pedal, he's usually standing a bit too close to effectively hit the ball with the barrel of the bat so we've had to condition him to depress the button and quickly take a step back. But so far, we've been having some good family fun with this in the few weeks we've had it. The bat is a telescoping bat but only in 1 place so it doesn't collapse easily or often while playing with it. The base is study and easy to use. The balls are a bit thin and will probably need to be replaced before the bat or base. But one of the best features of this item is that it doesn't require batteries!Pros: sturdy plastic construction, incredible price for value, no batteries required, my son LOVES itCons: the balls are a bit thin, foot button is a little stiff at first

Easy to use, durable and fun for the little ones! I can just watch, it was a great gift for my grandson.

Very easy to setup and the kids (and actually maybe the parents moreso) have fun using it. The balls are lightweight and cheap, but as a training tool it works fine.Only issue is the bat. My kids really like it, but it constantly collapses as they are using it. Would be better if it was a solid bat.

This thing is a HUGE hit for ALL ages!!I bought it for my nephew who is 3-and-a-half and loves baseball. Before I wrapped it, I showed it to my 23-year old brother and he asked if he could try it (no!). While I was wrapping it, I showed it to my 28-year old fiance and he asked if he could try it (no!).I told my 52-year old stepdad about it and he asked where he could get one. When my nephew opened it, everyone fought over playing with it (including his 5-and-a-half year old sister and 18-month old brother). Fortunately my nephew shared and I even got in on the action - it was REALLY fun!!!!We put it together in 5 minutes or less and there are no batteries that I saw. You simply step on the pedal and in a second or two, the ball pops up. The balls are pretty soft (we were playing with it in Grandma's living room with a Christmas tree nearby and people everywhere). The bat is a little bit harder plastic, which I learned the hard way....Seriously, this thing is such a great value! Had I known, I would have just bought one for every person in my family since they all wanted to play with it so much! I would have saved some money!And the best part: When my nephew makes the MLB, he can thank me for it!! Am I right? ;)

Mixed reviews here. I suspect misassembly is the problem. There are NO assembly instructions included. So here they are: On the base unit are three yellow hinged pieces. They must be opened straight up!!! Unit will not work otherwise. A sticker tells you this. After opening the yellow hinged pieces, take the red connector. Again, look carefully: There is an arrow molded into the blue base and an arrow molded into the red connector. Align the arrows, pop the red piece into the base. There should be no movement now, a solid connection. Now take the two red feed basket halves, align all the little nubs and points and snap together. The feed basket has two slots to push in to the red connector and then a slight turn to lock in place. Make sure the slots are correct and not bent sideways. Done.To use, the problem most people seem to have is that they think it is foot powered like a stomp rocket. NO! It is a simple trigger. Forceful jumping will NOT make it work. Simply press down until you hear a click, release and the whirring of the mechanism starts. A few seconds later, the ball will pop up. Beautiful! This is a Great toy to practice hitting or just catching the ball.Others complained of no extra balls available that fit. THERE ARE: The Franklin Aero Strike balls in an eight pack are a perfect fit.

This thing broke right away and I threw it in the trash.

Super neat, but the chute broke during first 10 min of supervised use. It still works, but you have to put the balls in one at a time by hand. For the price, I do not like seeing such flimsiness. But the kids are still able to have a good time with it!

Pros: pretty good at launching the balls to be hitHelps kids get practice in of hitting pitched ballsEasy assembly required.After a few times, kids can do the reload themselvesComes with 3 ballsLightweight and portableCons: takes a min to figure out how to get it to work properlyWould make a great gift and great to get kids ready to transition from T-ball to pitch baseball or even for T-ball if they have the concept down.9.5/10 rating