The Red Hook Star Review
Verona Street Has An Indoor Batting Cage.
Torres’ clientele also spreads to the rest of Brooklyn and even to Manhattan. He has had kids from Park Slope, Bay Ridge, Sunset Park and has even been getting kids from further away Bergen Beach, Mill Basin, and Sheepshead Bay.
“I played baseball for a long time so I have a lot of friends who are supportive and like what I’m doing,” Torres said. “Since they like what I am doing, they spread the word for me. They have recently been bringing their teams and kids to train here, which is great.”
Torres has a lot of experience working camps and leagues in the past and wants to work with the Red Hook Little League as well. He has been talking to their director about providing instruction and a training facility for those kids.
“A lot of those kids are in low-income families, so I am going to try and work something out to make it affordable,” Torres said. “I am looking into some grants and possibly some government assistance to help me fund kids that can’t afford the training.”
At Beacon, Torres transitioned kids involved in gang violence out of the streets into indoor programming. He wants to make Brooklyn Sluggers a safe environment.
Birthday parties have been popular and have brought a lot of kids to Brooklyn Sluggers in the last few months.
“I have pictures on the website of some of the cakes,” Torres said. “We design the cakes according to the kids’ favorite team. So far it has been Mets and Yankees, but we have had San Francisco Giants and the Cleveland Indians. We have designed everrything from the cakes, the cups, and the tablecloths, all major league themed.”
Torres likes the communal family environment that the parties create. “The parties are very big. We like the parties because it just brings a lot of people in. It also creates a family environment. I like when families integrate and engage with each other. It is exciting!”
Brooklyn Sluggers offers batting instruction. A batting cage with an instructor can be booked for $100 an hour. The instructors offer one-on-one training, teaching the theory behind hitting and then repetition training to hone the aspiring hitter’s skill. “If someone has a loop in their swing, or they are dropping their hands, or they just want to learn how to hit, we teach basic mechanics of hitting,” Torres said.
Monthly memberships are available, offering discounts on the batting tokens plus other amenities.
Brooklyn Sluggers, 80A Verona Street, (315) 230-4222. www.brooklynsluggers.com
Red Hook now has an indoor batting cage to go along with indoor miniature golf.
Brooklyn Sluggers is the brainchild of a former Beacon social worker, John Torres. The cages are located on Verona, across from Visitation Church.
After scouting for a year and a half for the Verona Street location, it took another six months to build.
“One of the guys who trains with us – Tito Navarro – helped build this whole place,” Torres said. “I came in and we helped put up the walls, sanded and painted. I had my son and brother in law help paint and my wife got involved. We spent many, many nights here until two or three in the morning,” explained Torres.
He has found that some local adults have come to the facility because they are in the area looking for something to do.
“I get Red Hookers because it is a no-brainer,” Torres said. “People who go to local bars or hang out will stop in and use the cages.”
Torres’ clientele also spreads to the rest of Brooklyn and even to Manhattan. He has had kids from Park Slope, Bay Ridge, Sunset Park and has even been getting kids from further away Bergen Beach, Mill Basin, and Sheepshead Bay.
“I played baseball for a long time so I have a lot of friends who are supportive and like what I’m doing,” Torres said. “Since they like what I am doing, they spread the word for me. They have recently been bringing their teams and kids to train here, which is great.”
Torres has a lot of experience working camps and leagues in the past and wants to work with the Red Hook Little League as well. He has been talking to their director about providing instruction and a training facility for those kids.
“A lot of those kids are in low-income families, so I am going to try and work something out to make it affordable,” Torres said. “I am looking into some grants and possibly some government assistance to help me fund kids that can’t afford the training.”
At Beacon, Torres transitioned kids involved in gang violence out of the streets into indoor programming. He wants to make Brooklyn Sluggers a safe environment.
Birthday parties have been popular and have brought a lot of kids to Brooklyn Sluggers in the last few months.
“I have pictures on the website of some of the cakes,” Torres said. “We design the cakes according to the kids’ favorite team. So far it has been Mets and Yankees, but we have had San Francisco Giants and the Cleveland Indians. We have designed everrything from the cakes, the cups, and the tablecloths, all major league themed.”
Torres likes the communal family environment that the parties create. “The parties are very big. We like the parties because it just brings a lot of people in. It also creates a family environment. I like when families integrate and engage with each other. It is exciting!”
Brooklyn Sluggers offers batting instruction. A batting cage with an instructor can be booked for $100 an hour. The instructors offer one-on-one training, teaching the theory behind hitting and then repetition training to hone the aspiring hitter’s skill. “If someone has a loop in their swing, or they are dropping their hands, or they just want to learn how to hit, we teach basic mechanics of hitting,” Torres said.
Monthly memberships are available, offering discounts on the batting tokens plus other amenities.
Brooklyn Sluggers, 80A Verona Street, (315) 230-4222. www.brooklynsluggers.com