I have never been more disappointed with a batting cage! I have batted in every cage in LA and last night I drove to Burbank to try out ""ON-DECK"" for the first time. There website says they're open till 8pm on Sundays... Well, I showed up at 7pm and there was a hand written note they had to close early... No mention of this on the website and an hour of my life I won't get back... So, I went back to the cage today at 2pm and I wish it had still been closed because it was a TOTAL RIP OFF!!! First they charge 3.50 for 25 pitches (Most other LA cages charge 3.00 for 30) but I was willing to accept this because they advertise they use REAL baseballs and I wanted to break in my new bat. I purchased 6 tokens and headed to the 60mph cage. I put the token in the machine (which is outside the cage) so right from the start you lose the first of your 25 pitches getting into the cage. I got in and this is when I get UPSET. The pitches were ALL OVER THE PLACE. The first round I MAYBE got 7 pitches to hitt that weren't bouncing or over my head. The guy came to try and fix it but offered NO extra round or token to help. Second round same thing... this time MAYBE 10 STRIKES. *Let me also address their claim these are real baseballs... They may be white and have stitching but these baseballs would never be allowed to be used in a game. Most were soft and gray.
SO I moved to the 70mph cage and this time MAYBE got 6-7 STRIKES... By this time I was looking around for anyone who could help and finally after 15 straight wild pitches the guy looked at me and I said ""I'm not getting the pitches I paid for and this stinks"" He then again went behind the machine and whatever he did strikes weren't coming in at any more than a 25% ratio. When my tokens were done I took off my helmet grabbed my jacket and walked out the door... NO ONE OFFERED TO GIVE ME A COUPLE EXTRA TOKENS, NO ONE SAID SORRY, AND NO ONE WAS HITTING THERE BUT ME!
If you have money to burn to wait for strikes during a 25 pitch round this is your place... You'll get prob 5 grooved fastballs and you'll be able to develop your eye watching ballls bounce or drift over your head. (This was NOT an issue with the worker because 3 would bounce, 1 would be perfect, and 3 more would float over my head it was a clear issue with their machines) When I go to a cage I am looking to get in some work, get a feel for my swing, hitt some strikes and in this instance break in my new composite bat that the manufacturer says needs a few hundred hits with REAL baseballs (rubber ballls void the warranty) so after 6 rounds I got MAYBE 25 grooved fastballs... THAT'S 25 OUT OF 150!! This means the other 125 pitches (5 TOKENS WORTH = $17.50) most of which bounced or were eye level was MONEY THROWN AWAY.
I UNDERSTAND WHY IT'S CALLED ON DECK... BECAUSE ALL YOU DO IS WATCH PITCHES INSTEAD OF SWINGING AWAY!
IF ANYONE FROM THE COMPANY HAS ANY RESPONSE OR THINKS THIS WAS AN ISOLATED INCIDENT PLEASE SEND ME A MESSAGE. UNTIL THEN I SAY HEAD TO THE CASTLE or BATCADE. They're cheaper and throw strikes.
Pros: They were open during posted hours
Cons: Open was the only thing they were.
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