WordNet
n. a movable screen placed behind home base to catch balls during batting practice [syn: cage]
Wikipedia
A batting cage (aka tunnel) is an enclosed area for baseball or softball players to practice the skill of batting.
The optimal material for batting cages is netting, and they are typically rectangular in shape. Chain-link fence is not required but can be useful to enclose the netting to prevent vandalism. However, this material is not suitable for the primary impact layer because it will warp the fencing and damage balls. The ideal netting for a batting cage is either diamond- or square-shaped. Both types of netting have their advantages and disadvantages.
Indoor
Indoor batting cages are typically suspended by steel cable lines, 1 line every 6–8 feet. The anchor points being the most important component, typically connected using a steel plate to the wall. Without strong anchors, the netting will sag.
Outdoor
Outdoor batting cages are typically installed using steel pole sections (2 uprights and 1 cross-bar per section), spaced every 12–20 feet. The greater the span between supports, the more sag in the netting and less usable the cage becomes.
Netting
Netting can greatly vary in quality and durability. #21 Gauge is suitable for little-league players, #36 Gauge is suitable for High-School players, and #60 is recommended for Commercial facilities and Pro Players. Resources such as this Netting Infographic Guide are helpful for identifying the best netting for an application.
Usage examples of "batting cage".
He could deduce some of that from the physical characteristics of the playing field and even more from offhand references made around the batting cage.
He suited up, came to the back of the batting cage, and attempted a couple of warm-up swings.
Then forty-five minutes (renegotiated to an hour) feeding quarters into video games of exuberant violence, followed by ice cream cones from a vendor apparently dressed as a pimp, a stop at the batting cage for Cammie, who was already wondering why there were no girls on major league baseball teams, and a peek inside the big top to see if the killer klowns, Cammie's favorites, had been loosed yet upon an unsuspecting audience, but just past the entrance, lounging inside a cage air-conditioned so, the sign said, he would not get mad and break the bars, was a large male gorilla Bas took one look at and began to cry, a sign it was time to go.
We got to stand beside him at the batting cage while he interviewed people like Willie Mays and Stan Musial.