Batting cage

there are a number of suppliers of the neting used in real batting cages.  Obtain some of that material, cut it to size, and then seam the material (remember your Boy Scout knots).  You'll need a high ceiling though and you'll need to weight the netting down.

A cage would be nice.  But until you get one a pop-up net and a tee would allow you to hit real baseballs in the garage or outside.  Can't go wrong with a Jugs net.

A jugs net would be a good idea, however my garage is to small for it. The net could fit inside, but when I would hit a ball the net would expand and probably hit something in my garage. 

Here's what we've tried.

1.  Picked up a hospital curtain (used to separate examination areas in an ER) that was being discarded from my work.  Hung it from rafters in basement, weighted it at bottom.  Works fine.

2.  Bow Net (similar to Jugs Net but MUCH easier to assemble/disassemble, IMHO).  Moved cars out of garage and hit into the net pointed OUT of the garage.  Gives more room for the net to expand without hitting what's behind it, nothing but the empty driveway in our case.

Best of luck!

That's a winner.

If I am understanding you correctly upthegap, you are saying to just open the garage and put the net facing outwards. This would not work because in the winter it would snow in my cage and it would be around 10 degrees on a average day. Northern weather is a huge obstacle

Yes, you understand perfectly.   Your weather is worse than ours except in the dead of winter where we could have a similar problem.  Our garage isn't heated so it would almost be as cold in as out anyway - not much fun to hit when it's that cold.  Best easy solution I could offer is to use the Bow Net or Jugs net and position it in a place where it would not extend and strike what's behind it when you hit into the net solidly with the garage door closed.

My son uses pop up net and tee w real baseballs in unfinished part of basement. Hits w wood to keep sound down and takes it all outside w metal bat in spring. 

We use a large canvas painters tarp.  Very heavy and durable.  Added some gromets to make holes for hanging.  I left the extra a the bottom so it says put -- only get maybe 6-12 inches give at impact.  You can pick one up at Home Depot and the like. 

Also ended up buying a small portable propane heater.  It takes the small canisters you can buy at any hardware store.  In 10-20 min. it will warm the garage up just enough to take the chill out of the air.     Good luck. 

Don't have a picture but it is pretty simple.  I installed 4 hooks from the ceiling of the garage.  Bot a canvas painters tarp at lowes/home depot.  Bot a set of brass grommets and made 4 holes to hang the tarp from.  Tarp hangs from the ceiling to the floor.  There is probably 2-4 feet of tarp that sits on the ground which helps keep it in place when hit into.  Because the canvas is so heavy and with the extra material on the floor, it absorbs a lot of the hit.  I have an open stall behind it, but I think if needed you could put in close, within 12 inches of a wall without too many issues. 

We strung a cable across top of the garage, hooked a net on using metal shower rings and weighted the ends along with tying them to hooks on the bottom.  It slides back out of the way when not in use.  We have a second cable with a Matt for throwing weighted and regular baseballs into.  Add a small propane heater and your in business.  Works great with a T or soft toss.

About 2 yrs ago I hung a moving blanket from the floor joist in our unfinished basement. Down side: 1) we can definately tell when the kids are hitting 2) I need to replace the insulation bc I only left about 3 ft of space between the blacket and the wall.

The type of workout area and balls used is not the problem.  If you are getting worse rather than better you are working on solidifying bad habits. My advise...get some help on how to practice from someone you trust. 

Great topic. When I lived in Maine my son played hockey and by this time of year I'd have a  20x50 rink with boards in the back yard by now. How I miss that!  Now living in NC and have found another passion: playing baseball with my son for a good 9 months a year and then 3 months of "off-season" work in our garage batting cage. Actually we use the cage year around but get most joy during the December-January months when we really feel like we are "getting away with something."  Lot of fun.  Yes, previous post recommends moving blankets, I do too.  But carpet or painting tarps will work also.  The moving blankets really slow the ball effectively in a short distance, maybe one foot for a hot line drive.  So if you have some dry wall or your wife's car or something it will mitigate damage. 

Here's what anyone can do:  Option #1: in your garage or even basement you can hang a tarp, moving blanket, etc. and simply hit off tee. Obviously this works best for 8-12 year olds but even teens if done with some additional precautions.  There are numerous drills to do simply off a tee that will make anyone a better hitter.  You can even do soft toss from the side,CAREFULLY.  My son did put a few dings in the drywall roof but oh well.  I pinched in the sides of a 12x14 net I ordered online to make a concave shape to catch any pulls or backside shots. 

Christmas a couple years ago I decided to take it up a notch as a surprise.  We have a 2-car garage about 20'wX25'LX 11'H.  I ordered a 10'Wx10'Hx20'L light nylon enclosed net, custom made, from SPI Nets (San Padre Island Nets, Texas).  Cost....$225-$250max?  Go to their site and you can plug in your dimensions for a free estimate. I ordered the lightweight netting (cheaper) as it was to be an indoor net and not subject to the elements. The cage covers one half of the 2-car garage.  So you should be able to do this even in a one car garage.  IT IS AWESOME!! Surprised my 13 year old with it last Christmas. Has been a huge asset to his offensive game. Does tee work 365/24/7. I even took it up a notch and bougt a 4x6 pitching screen and do front soft toss.  You'd be surprised how much you can do with a 10x10x20 cage. If I can find a photo or two I will attach later.  As far as hanging the net I simply bought about 12 of those black rubber "bungies" with silver S-hooks on each end?  Screwed eye-bolts into ceiling studs where I could, especially the four corners, but the net is so light (maybe 8lbs total? Hard to believe but remember it is not the heavy duty outdoor cage net) that many of the eye bolts are just into the drywall ceiling with washers on the inner wall side to keep the bolt from pulling out. Works fine.

Highly recommend an indoor if you can do it. Even if it is just an unfinished basement with a low ceiling and a single tarp or moving blanket hanging down. So much your player can do 365/24/7 with just that. 

Back to hockey, Pittsburgh Penguin Sydney Crosby became the "Next One" by shooting thousands of pucks into his mother's dryer (door opening) in their basement in Nova Scotia. His mom wasn't pleased but hey, it worked out for him? It even worked out for the dryer as it is on permanent display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.  Good Luck!!

Golfman, did you ever have any problems with the grommets popping out of the tarp? I ask because that has happened a couple times and I was wondering if you had any advise on how to stop this from happening. Thanks.

Yes.  I just pop new ones back in.  Sometimes I need to make a larger hole.