Charlie Sheen donates pitching machine to Samo baseball program

By FIONA MORIARTY-MCLAUGHLINFollowing his donations to the Samo Baseball program in the past years, such as donating $10,000 four years ago, 'Two and a Half Men' star and former Samo baseball player Charlie Sheen has continued his charitable streak by donating a pitching machine to the team.Varsity first baseman and pitcher Tommy Gutierrez ('14) said that the new equipment is beneficial because it allows the team to alter the machine's speed and velocity to the desired pace."The pitching machine will benefit us because none of our other machines can throw off speed pitches and this machine helps you sit back and wait to hit the ball," Gutierrez said. "We can also tweak the machine to throw at a higher velocity to see faster pitching to be game ready. This will prepare us for those game situations when we do see pitchers who throw 90 mph fastballs."The HomePlate Sports Tutor pitching machine, which costs approximately $8,000, will be an integral tool for the team as they continue training in preparation for their spring season, according to Coach Kurt Schwengel."Charlie [Sheen] had a great knuckleball while he was here," Schwengel said. "This machine throws pitches that our other machines cannot. It will be very helpful to our hitters."