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5 Best Batting Cages In New York City For 2015

For those who dream of the big leagues, New York City has several great batting cages. In the immortal words of baseball fans everywhere, "Swing, batter batter!" By Jessica Allen.

Related: Best Baseball Bars In New York City

TheComplex
(credit: The Complex / Instagram)

With a pool, a gym, a jacuzzi, fitness classes, indoor soccer space, and batting cages, the Astoria Sports Complex is truly a one-stop shop for perfecting your body. The batting cages have a few options: softballs, baseballs, or curve balls, as well as fielding tunnels and ground ball machines. You can set the speed, for the sake of safety and, ahem, saving face. Everything is totally automatic, so all you need to do is get into position and swing like you mean it.

TheBaseballCenter
(credit: The Baseball Center / Facebook)

Since 2000, The Baseball Center has offered a massive space (more than 15,000 square feet!) to perfect your form on the Upper West Side. Professional coaches are on site, and private lessons are available, as are after-school programs, clinics, and outdoor leagues. The Baseball Center also boasts HitTrax, the world's first and only baseball simulator. As you swing for the fences, you'll get important data about your physical condition and form.

D7K_4969_Roy_Halladay
(credit: SD Dirk on Flickr - Originally posted to Flickr as "D7K_4969". Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons)

Chelsea Piers just might be the city's best gym environment. You name it, and you can do it here: basketball, parkour, soccer, yoga, weight lifting, rock climbing, gymnastics, bowling, golf, ice skating, and more, from classes to drop-ins. And then there are the batting cages, with slow, medium, or fast pitch baseball or softball. You can also try the ProBatter Simulator, used by the pros and featuring a life-size video screen simulated pitcher.

PremierBaseballPerformanceCenter
(credit: Premier Baseball Performance Center of New York / Facebook)

Not only does the Premier Baseball Performance Center in Queens give you a great place to work on your technique, but you can do it under the kind, watchful eyes of college and professional coaches and trainers, including relief pitcher Pedro Beato. Its tunnels offer the Iron Mike Pitching Machine and Jugs Softball Machine. Fans (including parents) can grab a cold drink and catch the action from the Clubhouse.

Randalls Island Golf Center
(credit: Randall's Island Golf Center / Facebook)

Could you hit a 90-mile-an-hour fastball? Want to find out? Head over to the Randall's Island Golf Center, which has nine stall batting cages nestled among its golf facilities. You can try your luck at softball or baseball pitching machines (and, yes, slower speeds are available). When you're done, you can chillax in the on-site beer garden, play a soothing round of mini-golf, or take yourself right back to elementary school via a game of tetherball.

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