System

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Rubber Mats are smaller than Banner Mats and more portable. Coaches can keep them in their gear bag.

Rubber Mats are smaller (24” diameter), approximately 1/8” thick, easier to deploy, and constructed from ultra-sturdy rubber to be durable, resist weather, and not slip on wood floors during indoor use. The Safety Target Symbol is printed onto the rubber material.

As demonstrated in the three videos below, 

the Safer Baseball Safety Target and Training System uses an external cue - the Banner Mat in these examples - to remind the player to safely handle and control their bat. 

Safer Baseball provides standard methods and branded, effective tools to help increase safety on the field, in dugouts, and even play at home in the backyard.

To order STS Rubber Mats individually as parents or coaches or as part of your customized Safer Baseball Safety Target and Training System for your league or training facility program, please email Info@SaferBaseball.com with STS Rubber Mats in the subject line.

Over 100,000 players per year are taken to emergency care centers (the number may be tenfold since most players are just treated at the field or at home) to treat injuries suffered while playing a wonderful game. 

According to Little League officials, no training aid can be on the field during games where they can potentially impact play or be a slip or trip hazard. Rubber Mats should be put in the dugout or gear bag while Banner Mats must be attached to the fence during games.  

During practice, a Rubber or Banner Mat is placed in foul territory, about five feet down the 1ST baseline. The batter hits the ball, aims for the bullseye of the Rubber Mat or the red "X" formed by the crossed bats on both the Rubber Mat and Banner Mat, and safely drops the bat while heading to 1ST base.

Batters will ultimately develop their personal bat drop maneuver. The key is for them to focus first on bat safety and to always control and never throw their bat.

After practice, please re-clip the Banner Mat back on the fence between the dugout and home plate to serve as an external cue and constant reminder about the Safer Baseball Safety Target and Training System. 

For sponsoring and licensing opportunities, please email Info@SaferBaseball.com with STS Bat Safety Program Sponsoring and Licensing in the subject line.  

Banner Mats are 36" x 36” square vinyl mats. They are printed on a white background, have grommets in each corner to help hang on fences (but not for anchoring to field), have 2” diameter pole pockets to insert weights to help minimize movement in windy conditions.

Banner Mats are sponsor-focused and may include logos (league, national and local sponsors; have two crossed bats; “aim for the” to aid the hitter to aim for the crossed bats (“X”); “SAFETY Before FIRST!” to call attention to batters actions before hitting the ball and proceeding to 1ST base. 

Banner Mats are kept on the fence near home plate instead of transporting to and from the field by coaches who already have enough gear to haul! This is easier for coaches and ensures mats are at the field for practice. During games they serve as a constant reminder for all players, coaches, and umpires to handle bats safely.  

To order STS Banner Mats as part of your customized Safer Baseball Safety Target and Training System for your league or training facility program, please email Info@SaferBaseball.com with STS Banner Mats in the subject line.  

A player gets a hit and incorrectly throws his bat before heading to 1ST base. The Safer Baseball Banner Mat creates a target to be a focused spot on the ground for the bat to be dropped on rather than flung or thrown that can then hit the catcher, umpire, or anyone in the flight path.  

Coach Mike effectively demonstrates how to drop the bat safely on the way to 1ST base before asking him to try again. The player  threw the bat in Video 1. 

"Until I started using the Safer Baseball Mat I was constantly telling every player many times not to throw a bat. But they forget or get excited so having a visual target to teach, show, and remind them how to do it is much easier and more effective."  

- Coach Mike Caddy 

A player successfully following the Safer Baseball Safety Target and Training System. He threw the bat in Video 1. Received effective and standardized coaching in Video 2. This time after getting a hit, the batter drops the bat safely on the Banner Mat before heading to 1ST Base.

2021 LLWS Called Strike: Now this one was just "a little outside" and should not have been called a strike but is a good example of how the strike zone (detailed in this section) has changed in youth baseball.

• Standard baseball rules call any portion of the ball traveling over any area of a regulation 17-inch white plate a strike. Hitters, especially youth, think the white pentagon is the outside boundary, not realizing it's nearly a full ball over both outside edges of home plate (the blue zones in the EHP). 

• The Unwritten Rule: Most youth league umpires use an expanded strike zone “armpits to bottom of knees” rather than “chest to the top of knees” but many also add an additional ball width to the opposite side of the hitter (the outside red zone in addition to both blue zones of the EHP) making the strike zone 3 balls wider than the regulation 17-inch white plate. The EHP clearly demonstrates the entire called strike zone to help hitters in several ways. Put a baseball on the inside and two balls on the outside edge of a batter while standing at the plate to see their expression. Now use the EHP to train and reinforce during practices and help all your hitters take control of the strike zone. 

• A larger and wider strike zone encourages aggressive hitting, builds pitcher confidence, reduces pitch counts, results in fewer walks and batters hit by inside pitches. It also speeds up play. The outside of the plate is also emphasized to increase safety by encouraging pitchers not to pitch inside which leads to more hit batters. Expanded strike zones (open to interpretation) also make for a more exciting game since the larger strike zone encourages more swinging which means more action and chances for contact requiring defenders to be more alert and decreases player and spectator boredom.

• While some umpires joke the strike zone should be “nose to toes” to encourage hitters to use those expensive bats parents purchase…the keys are consistency and for all participants to understand the umpire called strike zone. Most umpires are set up over the shoulder of the catcher on the batter's side of the plate and often can't always see the outside of the plate. Hitters should be told this so they can be aggressive and not leave it up to guessing.

• Research shows over 70% of called strikes in high school to MLB are balls traveling between the middle of home plate and the outside edge (EHP blue zone). In youth baseball, expanded strike zones mean an even higher percentage of strikes are called for pitches that cross between the middle of the plate and the two-ball expanded zone (edge of EHP red zone). Are your players trained and confident to use the entire strike zone?

• Quality coaches tell their players, “they are their own best coach” to encourage them to put more effort and time into developing their skill set. It is necessary to "self-adjust" during games when a hitter must react to various pitchers and their own actions at the plate. Youth players that learn to utilize and train to take advantage of the entire expanded strike zone will enjoy more success by hitting to the opposite field rather than striking out.  

• Games moving along at a quicker pace can also help increase enthusiasm for today's youth that are preoccupied with faster-paced video games and mobile devices. Games also end sooner which is important when daylight recedes during early-evening games and tournaments requiring lots of innings and games.

EHPs are a great tool for team practices and help parents supplement team and personal coaching.

• EHPs have the flexibility for both left and right-handed hitters in leagues that use the additional ball outside the plate for a total expanded strike zone of nearly 9 inches or 3 balls wider (2 balls outside, and 1 inside). 
• EHPs are temporary, throw-down, 1/8-inch thick rubber mats that have two nearly 3 inches wide differently colored (red and blue) zones on either side of the plate.

To order EHPs individually as parents or coaches or as part of your customized Safer Baseball Safety Target and Training System for your league or training facility, please email Info@SaferBaseball.com with EHPs and STTS Home Plates in the subject line.   

Demonstrating the Expanded Strike Zone with three baseballs for a right-handed hitter.  

Note how the hitter has to get the barrel out across the plate to try and hit that outside strike or has to pull the inside pitch which is coming into their hands.

• A strike at any level of baseball is called on a ball over both outside edges of home plate (the blue zones on the EHP). Youth baseball adds a second ball on the outside but not on the inside (red zones) to the strike zone.

• Youth hitters need to learn how to hit the outside pitch to be more effective, have fewer strikeouts, and help their team succeed. Some of the greatest hitters in the game (from Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn to top-rated hitters in today’s game Mike Trout, Freddie Freeman, and Albert Pujols) all mastered hitting the outside pitch first. They focus on hitting the ball to the opposite field and make it a critical part of their pre-game warm-up to become dominant hitters. It is much easier to pull an inside pitch than to extend your swing to hit an outside strike. An expanded strike zone focuses attention on outside pitches (strikes) that are even further away and need to be understood by the hitter to improve individual performance, team success, and enjoyment for all. As players proceed to upper-level baseball, they will face pitches that curve, slide, or break to the outer side of the plate also making learning how to hit the outside pitch early on key to future success.

• Aside from injury, the last thing anyone wants to see is a child walking back to the dugout feeling dejected after not swinging at a called third strike. With many youthful players so apprehensive about striking out, not helping their team, and seeing and hearing spectator reactions, they can benefit from using the EHP to increase their skills, confidence, and performance.  

• Coaches should not impede games by coaching batters on every pitch. Coaches are compelled to coach at all times since they want to help their players succeed and build their confidence. Cheering and simple reminders are helpful, but coaches are advised to leave the coaching to practices and “just let kids play” during games. Giving a batting lesson to every player at every at bat during a game wears thin on everyone. The EHP is an important new tool to help coaches reinforce the expanded strike zone, and, importantly, aid players in self-coaching and self-training, to help them self-adjust at the plate - make them their own best coach.

• Increased success at the plate creates more:

• Joy for the hitter by putting the bat on the ball. 
• Smiles for anxious parents worried about their child’s performance. 
• Alert defenders who often stand around bored waiting to engage in a ball hit to them. 
• Team offense as hitters strike out less and aggressively put the ball in play.
• Excitement to spectators yearning for more action and offense. 
• Desire to continue playing therefore retaining current players and possibly increasing participation in your league.

• The batter (and other participants) benefit by more awareness of the expanded strike zone utilized by leagues and umpires. Every league should:

• Discuss if and how to use an expanded strike zone.
• Coordinate with all umpires and coaches.
• Train players to use the expanded strike zone (EHPs are a new and revolutionary tool).
• Educate parents and spectators so all are informed on how the game is called.

For sponsoring and licensing opportunities, please email Info@SaferBaseball.com with EHPs and STTS Home Plates Sponsoring and Licensing in the subject line. 

A Safety Target Symbol (STS) applied to home plate is another great option to reinforce bat safety since Rubber and Banner Mats can not be on the field during a game.  

• Home Plate Replacement Program:     

• Batters are taught to tap home plate with their bat to size up their specific strike zone.
• By merely glancing at a Safer Baseball Home Plate with a Safety Target Symbol (STS) the external cue symbol can remind hitters to handle their bat safely before each swing. 
• Safer Baseball is working with leagues to get this home plate modification approved. The Safety Target Symbol shouldn’t impact play since once the pitcher's windup begins, pitchers focus on the batter and catcher’s mitt, batters focus on the pitcher and ball, and umpires don’t focus on the lower portion of home plate when crouched behind the catcher. Importantly, both teams would work with the same slightly modified and “safer” home plate.

• Safer Baseball products have specific applications. Safer Baseball Home Plates provide a uniform way to display the Safety Target Symbol when it counts most – while a bat is being swung, emotions run high, others are vulnerable, and play can be impacted (umpire interference calls). 

• As leagues approve their use, Safer Baseball Home Plates will be especially key as replacement plates. The Safety Target Symbol is deeply dyed into the rubber material. A decal or sticker cannot be simply applied to an existing home plate since the graphic would peel off or get marked up due to cleats scratching across the surface of the plate.

To order STS Home Plates individually as parents or coaches or as part of your customized Safer Baseball Target and Training System for your league or training facility, please email Info@SaferBaseball.com with STS Home Plates in the subject line.