Vista, CA -- Inventors are a lot like baseball players -- they have a lot of strikeouts for every home run.

That's the lesson learned by Tim Minniear, who is the man behind the "Hit-A-Way," a popular device for baseball buffs who want to practice their hitting.

Minniear designed the prototype back in 1998 in order to practice for a big hitting contest -- which he won.

He admits his good fortune was a long time coming. Minniear's previous inventions never made it to market, such as the U-turn signal that's placed on the driver's side of a car and the portable closet that let surfers change without exposing themselves.

Now, thanks to the Hit-A-Way's success, Minniear now spends a lot of his time surfing.

Many folks would be content at this point but Minniear isn't resting on his Hit-A-Way's laurels. The 36-year-old "surfing inventor" is now trying to market surfboard wax in roll-on deodorant bottles.

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