Spring time. Freshly cut grass, budding flowers, warmer weather, annoying allergies and the crack of the bat. Of course by that I mean America’s favorite past time – baseball. My husband has already been enjoying watching watching some games, and he’s looking forward to watching a few games in person at our local minor league baseball stadium.

Personally, I am not a fan of baseball. I like sports, but I think baseball is my least favorite because as a kid, my father was an umpire for local baseball leagues. The games were played at our local park. I would go with him so I could enjoy some time in the park – but – I couldn’t go on the swings and slides until after the game my dad was umpiring was over. While I do appreciate (greatly) that he wanted to keep me safe, as a young child who is sitting on the bleachers admiring the other kids on the swings, made me dislike baseball. Baseball (to me) meant being “tortured” having to wait until the game was over before I could have fun (heaven forbid the game went into extra innings – ha ha).

Baseball is a very popular sport. Take my “work kids” for example. They love playing sports and have been anxious to start playing baseball now that we can go outside to play. This year I had something special for them – collectible balls from Junk Ball.

What is a Junk Ball anyway? It’s a pitch that controls the movement of the baseball and allows the pitcher to throw off a batter’s timing – such as knuckleballs, curveballs, and sliders. The more junk balls a pitcher can throw, the more likely they are to strike out their batter. Here’s a short video to show you how it works.

 

Junk Ball was kind enough to send me some balls to check out for myself, as well as to use with my “work kids.”

The balls come in a “blind bag,” meaning you don’t know what Junk Ball you will find inside. “Blind bags” are all the rage these days. So many products out there are available in “blind bags.”

The back of each bag shows all the available Junk Balls, as well as their commonality. It shows which are common balls, which are hard to find and which one is the rarest of them all.

I received the following balls in my review package.

I received;

• “High Cheese”
• “Lucky”
• “Crash Test”

Some how I ended up with three “rare” balls. How cool is that?

Junk Balls are lightweight. They remind me of wiffle balls, but a much better quality. They throw just like them as well. You also don’t need to be an expert baseball pitcher in order to throw these balls.

Sadly, I have not been able to pitch these personally myself. I am right handed, and I had surgery on my right arm/shoulder that I am still recovering from. I’m lucky if I can hold my cellphone, let alone pitch a ball. It will be a long time before I can do that again. Thankfully my “work kids” are more than happy to take over. In fact, I have a few kids at work that play baseball after school, so they know exactly what to do.

The kids really like these balls. They like the different look to them. The one called “Crash Test” (the bright yellow one) seems to be the one they play with the most. I think it’s because it stands out in the grass the most. I do have a few kids at work that can hit a ball really far, so having a ball that stands out helps.

Junk Balls have different surfaces (you might notice how “High Cheese” pictured above has those raised lines on it).

The three I received are the original style.

Original Style

Features a dial-your-pitch ring that allows you to control the aerodynamics of the ball and throw multiple different pitches.

Tornado

Features diamond cutouts and scuff marks for maximum curve control.

Pro Max

Features a 360 degree dimpled design for maximum speed and distance.

I am not really proficient in the different types of throwing styles, and I don’t know if the kids at work are really that good at throwing them “professionally” either (they range in age from 5-12). All I do know is that they have been having a blast playing baseball, and they have been very disappointed on the days they can’t play due to rain.

We even have a baseball diamond on the playground (non-school games are often played there after hours).

These balls are great for tossing back and forth too.

In addition to the Junk Balls, the brand also offers something called the Umpire Strike Zone. It’s a backdrop of sorts that goes behind the batter.

My apologies that my photo is not the best.

• Track your score, strikes, outs, balls, and base runners!
• Let the Strike Zone be your Ump – anywhere in the green or gray is a strike!
• Practice your Pitching – aim for a specific box on the target or use the pitching guides to learn a new pitch: screwball, fastball, curveball or riser.
• Includes strike zone, 1 exclusive collectible ball and sticker, 9 tracking clips, instructions and 4 stakes

This brief video shows Umpire Strike Zone in action.

 

Due to my surgery, I had my husband help me to assemble it. I had a hard time with the poles (not exactly something you can do with one hand).

We didn’t have an easy time assembling this. Getting the back piece (the portion that shows you strikes, balls, on deck…) was not easy to stretch and attach on the poles. My husband followed the directions exactly, but still found it difficult to get it to stretch and attach over the poles. To remedy it, we used duct tape in the back to make sure it was attached. You can’t see it on the front, so that worked out great.

I don’t know how easy this would be to assemble and take apart on a daily basis. For that reason I have left it fully assembled. At the end of the school year I will take it apart again so I can store it away until the next school year in September.

Since my kids at work are younger and just play for fun (meaning they care more about throwing and hitting the ball rather than scoring or running bases) they haven’t used the Umpire Strike as intended. Instead they use it as a way of getting the ball if they miss the swing. Instead of the ball flying past them if they miss the pitch, it will hit the Umpire Strike and land by the hitter. That way they don’t have to run behind them to retrieve the ball. Another words, they use it as a “catcher.” That is fine with me. As long as they are having fun with it.

Junk Ball even sells bats.

The bats also come with a Junk Ball, so you can get started playing with them “right off the bat” (no pun intended… or maybe a little… ha ha).

The brand’s have a special area marked off on them (the yellow area) so you know exactly where to make contact with the ball for maximum power and distance at the plate.

The bats are lightweight and great for even the youngest player. They are made out of plastic.

Also available from the brand are T-ball sets and multi bat and ball sets.

If you would like to learn more about any of these Junk Ball products, visit the brand online at JunkBall.com. You can also find the brand on Facebook and Instagram. Their links are found on the top of the brand’s website.

Are you a fan of baseball? Do you think your child/grandchild would enjoy Junk Balls? Feel free to comment and share your thoughts. I always love to hear from readers.

Kimberly

*I received free product samples to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.