It has a relatively low profile in Malaysia, but baseball could become a popular game of the future with the country's first baseball batting cage centre. JAMES HIPKISS writes.

The basic kit.

The pitching machine, not a means of transport.

TALK about a sport with a bat and ball and most Malaysians will probably think of cricket.

It’s a popular game, especially in India, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand.

Another bat and ball game that is popular in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan is baseball and its sister game, softball.

The national sport of America, this game seems to have a pretty low profile in Malaysia.
Could this be changing though?

There is now a five-team baseball league in Malaysia and a gentleman by the name of Tim Freebairn seems certain to raise the profile of both games here.

In the last two years, Tim has established Southeast Asia’s first baseball batting cage centre.

It is located on the roof of the 1 Utama shopping centre in Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya (take the lift by the ground floor entrance of Parksons all the way to the roof, and you will be in for a surprise).

So just what is a batting cage centre?

It is similar to a golf driving range, but instead of putting down balls and hitting them, the player stands ready with a bat.

Balls are fired at him every eight seconds from a machine and the player is expected to hit them as hard as possible.

All I can say after one session is that it is not difficult, and it feels very satisfying when you are able to make contact with the balls.

To put it into Tim’s words, “it’s like playing a realistic video game.”

You are provided with a bat and helmet but you have to buy your tokens. Tokens are priced between RM5 and RM7 each. One token gives you 15 balls.

Alternatively, it is also possible to buy 15 or 30 minutes of unlimited play for RM20 to RM45.

The centre is open to beginners and professionals.

Known as It’s A Hit, the centre has eight cages — four for baseball and four for softball. It is open from noon to 10.30pm (weekdays) and from 10am to midnight (weekends).