Note: Phone number change.

CPSC, Fisher-Price Announce Recall To Repair Program For Baseball Training Toy

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Fisher-Price Inc. of East Aurora, N.Y., is announcing a repair program for approximately 100,000 Baseball Training Centers. Fisher-Price is aware of five incidents in which batteries used in its No. 2875 Baseball Training Center overheated and exploded. Although only one minor injury has resulted, serious injury could occur if caustic battery contents come in contact with skin or eyes.

The Baseball Training Center can be used by children three years old and older for pitching, hitting, and fielding practice. Children hit or throw baseballs into a large net, and the balls are thrown back out by a machine located in the toy's base. In some cases, the batteries that power the mechanism that throws balls can overheat and explode.

The Baseball Training Center has a blue plastic base and a white mesh net that is attached to a large semicircle by yellow synthetic fabric. The toy, measuring 3 feet wide, 3 feet high and 15 inches deep, is sold with a brown plastic bat and five white plastic baseballs. The Baseball Training Center was sold nationwide through large toy stores and other retail outlets for approximately $35.00.

Consumers who own the Baseball Training Center should turn off the toy and should not use the product until they repair it. Consumers should call Fisher-Price Consumer Affairs at 800-233-4004 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. EDT, Monday through Friday, or 10 a.m. through 5 p.m., Saturday, to request a free repair kit. The kit will contain a part for consumers to install in the training center's battery compartment to prevent battery overheating. Consumers should not return the product to retail outlets.

Fisher-Price has instructed retailers to remove the product from their shelves and will immediately replace it with an improved product.