Pittsburgh Pirates Join the Family; Bucs Become Fifth Major League Club to Acquire ProBatter Pitching Simulator

Video/Computer Pitching System Is Must-Have Training Tool for Winning-Minded Teams


MILFORD, CT--(Marketwire - March 5, 2008) - ProBatter Sports has signed a deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the club to acquire two of its leading-edge ProBatter PX2 video pitching simulators. The Bucs becomes the fifth major league organization to purchase the ultra-sophisticated systems, which employ patented technology to recreate the experience of facing live pitching in a completely controlled environment.

The deal was struck with Pirates General Manager, Neal Huntington, and Director of Player Development, Kyle Stark. Both executives joined Pittsburgh this past off-season after serving in the Cleveland Indians' front office and helping to build the team into perennial contenders. While with the Tribe, Huntington and Stark oversaw the acquisition of multiple ProBatter systems for use throughout the organization, including a unit used regularly by players at Jacobs Field. Last year, the Indians finished first in the American League Central Division.

"We're very pleased by the Pirates commitment and their decision to include ProBatter in their training regimen," said Adam Battersby, President of ProBatter Sports. "They've joined the growing number of major league clubs that recognize the value of our unique systems and we're delighted to be an increasingly important part of how today's players maximize their potential."

The Pirates will be installing the ProBatter systems at their PNC Park home in Pittsburgh, as well as their Pirate City spring training site in Bradenton, Florida.

ProBatter has sold multiple systems to the New York Yankees for players' use at Yankee Stadium and the ballparks of three of their minor league teams. In addition, the world champion Boston Red Sox and New York Mets have ProBatter simulators installed at their spring training locations in Florida, where major and minor league players can use the machines to train and rehabilitate throughout the year.

The most advanced training tool available for hitters working on improving their timing and mechanics, ProBatter combines the most recent computer and video innovations to create a perfectly synchronized pitching simulation. The PX2 offers a startingly realistic experience, not unlike an aircraft flight simulator used to train pilots, with the system fully programmable to replicate any conceivable hitting scenario.

The ProBatter PX2 allows a hitter to face a DVD-quality image of a real pitcher, which is projected onto an 8x10 foot screen. The pitcher winds up (or throws from a stretch) -- at the moment of release, an actual ball is fired through a small hole in the screen, delivering virtually any pitch a human being can. Synchronization is precise and the effect is extremely realistic. Hitters can be challenged by an endless array of fastballs, sinkers, cutters, curves, sliders, change-ups, etc. -- at speeds up to 100 mph and variable in increments of two mph. Moreover, the pitches can be delivered with pinpoint accuracy and thrown to pre-selected locations inside and outside the strike zone.

Ballplayers benefit from a hitting experience that very closely simulates live major league quality pitching. Through this nearly perfect recreation of reality, the ProBatter system can hone hitting skills like no other pitching machine ever created.

Besides the major league clubs that have embraced ProBatter, the pitching simulators have proven to be extremely popular throughout the baseball world. Division I college programs, Michigan, Connecticut, Maine, Navy, Old Dominion and Nevada incorporate ProBatter systems in their training routines, as does the 2005 Japan Series champion, Chiba Lotte Marines, under the leadership of former big league player and manager, Bobby Valentine. The systems are also in high demand at private training facilities, while even individuals have purchased units -- including active pro players, Jason Giambi and Trot Nixon.

About ProBatter Sports

ProBatter Sports was formed in 1999 by members of Kent Communications, Ltd. and Stahl Real Estate, LLC. Stahl Real Estate is one of the principal commercial real estate developers in New York City, while Kent Communications is a publisher of a variety of journals and books on such diverse subjects as intellectual property and licensing.

Originally founded around the ProBatter Professional system, the ProBatter product line has substantially expanded since its inception with products such as the ProBatter II retrofit kit for commercial batting cages, ProBatter Professional Softball system, and a host of ancillary products including a Smart Card control system, a Scoring system, feeder systems, and the ProBatter seamed pitching machine balls, which are licensed to Baden Sports. The ProBatter line of products has received 13 U.S. patents and more than 20 international patents.

www.probatter.com

Contact Information: SSA Public Relations Media Contact: Elliott Chang (818) 907-5929