Best Batting Tees

There are a number of fantastic options for great batting tees on the market and we’ve tried most of them. As a consensus, Just Bat Reviews writers and players like the Tanner Tee Heavy as its overall best batting tee. However, the Atec T3 tee also received high marks. We discuss our reasoning below as well as some options for any one looking for the top hitting tees.

(You might also like our article on the best pitching machines)

Why You Need a Great Tee

Hitting a baseball… one of the most frustrating, yet rewarding things an athlete can try to do.  How can a player best prepare for a piece of leather less than 3 inches in diameter hurtled toward you anywhere from 40mph at the youngest ages to 95mph+ at the elite levels?

How can that athlete make their round boomstick hit that ball and make it move forward into the field of play?  Continuous practice, high numbers of repetitions, different scenarios… repeat.  Not everyone has access to a pitching machine, let alone the space needed to successfully get in the number of reps needed to be successful at hitting a baseball.

Tee Work is the Answer

The best answer to this situation, and by many, the fundamental piece of developing a “big-time swing”, is tee work – and a lot of it!  If a player dedicates themselves to work hard, why should they work to refine their skill with subpar equipment?  Today, we look at some of the top batting tees we have tested and one that is new to the game of pro-level equipment.

Expensive Tees vs Rubber Tees?

The Tees we discuss below might be in the eyes of many when comparing to the hard rubber tees you can buy at the many big chain retail stores. But the durability, functionality, and ease of continued use will make the investment well worth it!

If you are serious about tee work then we think, to put it bluntly, the cheaper rubber tees you might purchase at major outlets is a waste of money. They break quickly—especially if you are using it with serious ball players.

Tanner Tees

If you are even remotely familiar with the game of baseball, you will have heard of the brand Tanner Tees.  From little league up to the most elite levels of baseball, Tanner Tees are a staple in every practice facility or hitting cage.  Today, we are going to look at the two Tanner Tees that make it to the top of our list.

Tanner Tee – The Original

How can you not look at a baseball tee and see that it has an endorsement from hitting legend Tony Gwynn?  The Tanner Tee – The Original is and has been the standard for batting tees for over 25 years.  This tee is hand crafted in Sarasota, Florida.  The tee is comprised of two parts – the adjustable stem and the weather resistant polymer base.  What sets the Tanner tee apart is the hand-rolled FlexTop.  The FlexTop is an extremely flexible, yet sturdy rubber role at the top of the stem allows for the bat to pass through the contact point without much interference.

This is a total difference in response you will receive from the typical rigid plastic stem that many major brand tees offer.  If you miss-hit the ball or swing lower than intended, the tee will receive the impact and fall over.

This is not the case with the Tanner Tee.  It is recommended, however, that you either have something to weight the tee down or purchase a tee weight that is available to ensure the most available reps per hour without having to pick up the tee from bad miss-hits.

Original Tanner Tee Sizing

The Tanner Tee – The Original is available in three sizes: Adjustable 16-23in (Low Ball), Adjustable 20-32 (Youth/Short), and Adjustable 26-43in (Adult/Standard).  We recommend the Adult/Standard model for all of those out there looking for a tee unless you are in the early years of youth ball (5yrs to 9yrs).   The hitting cage at JustBatReviews.com is a long-time user of the Tanner Tee.

Best Batting Tees

Tanner Tee – Tanner Heavy

The Tanner Heavy tee takes “The Original” by Tanner and adds a 10lb. heavyweight base built in, all other size options are the same.  The tee base is designed with three points of contact, which allows for maximum balance, while decreasing the likelihood of tee creep or knock-over from a tee-killing swing.

I have found that this model is really solid as it can sit on a raised home plate and sit perfectly without leaning the tee because half of it is on the plate and the other half is on the ground.

There is little, if any, need to have a tee weight involved in the setup here.  It is a great replacement for the Original Tee with a tee weight if you are looking to simplify the mobility of the tee from home to facility to the batting cage.  The other great part that I feel this tee brings is that the bottom plate is not a solid square.

The hitter can still see the majority of the white plate below when swinging and not have a blacked out square due to the base of the tee.  This would be a great option for tees that mostly stay in one physical location.

Backspin Tee

See our full review on the Backspin tee here.

Atec T3 Professional Tee

I have recently had exposure to this batting tee and it is very nice and solid.  It feels very similar to the Tanner in its stem and base.  The Atec T3 Professional Tee is built with industry leading materials to minimize swing interference and maximize positive contact zone.  This tee is very portable and easily moved to what ever environment you are trying to use it to improve your hitting skills.  This tee includes a high density base which is good for stabilization.

I do recommend, however, the very slick tee weight that slides over and fits on the base to control the tipping effect.  I think this is a much nicer accessory to stabilize the tee as opposed the sand bag that is typically used with the Tanner Tee – The Original.  If you want to try an alternative to Tanner Tees, this might be the one.

See our full Atec T3 Tee Review

Jugs Tee

Jugs has been known for a long time in the world of pitching machines.  In fact, they are the #1 selling pitching machine company in the world.  The Jugs T seems very similar to the Tanner Tee and the Atec Professional T3 above.  The tee is adjustable from 24″ to 46″ inches to allow hitters to work on mechanics throughout the strike zone.

The claim of the Jugs T is that with its total weight of 10lbs, there are no extra accessories needed to keep the tee on the ground and not tip over.  One nice addition to this tee that the others lack is a built in handle to carry the tee.  The Jugs T includes a patented grip-n-go handle on the base for easy transport.

Final Thoughts on the Best Batting Tee

In the end, tee work will make a hitter better.  It comes down to how much and what drills you do to take that next step in your skillset.  We do recommend, however, that you invest in a piece of equipment that will stand the test of time and make the sessions as effective as possible.  The tees listed above start around $80 and move up to $115.  Professional level tees provide a professional level experience for the hitter.  Why give your hitter a sub-par piece of equipment?