Years ago, a badly adjusted pitching machine put a batting-cage ball off my left thumb. It was probably set for 60 mph, for I doubt I could have hit anything fa

Years ago, a badly adjusted pitching machine put a batting-cage ball off my left thumb. It was probably set for 60 mph, for I doubt I could have hit anything faster. But batting-cage balls are made for durability, to hold up under constant hitting by aluminum bats. In other words, they are damn hard. I did not enjoy it.