Fungo is more than just a catchy moniker. It’s also a quite helpful tool for coaches who want to improve the accuracy and efficiency of fielding practice.
If you have never used a fungo bat before, this post will provide you with all the information you need. If you’re an experienced user, it will provide you with some useful insider knowledge regarding selecting your next one. So let’s get started.
What is a fungo bat?
A fungo bat is a long, lightweight baseball bat used by coaches (or parents) during pregame hitting or practice to help them hit grounders and pop flys with more consistency and less fatigue.
In the game of baseball, there are many resources available to us that can help us improve. This is not just another bat with a fancy name, but it is one of the best tools to practice baseball. Coaches practice their fielding skills by hitting grounders and fly balls with fungo bats.
The best fungo bats, which can be made of wood or metal, are much lighter than a typical game bat. It is simpler to hit more balls frequently because of their lighter weight. You can control the bat with one hand while throwing the ball up with the other.
Why should you use a Fungo Bat?
Less Fatigue, Cost Saving, and Better Accuracy – these three features summarize everything about a fungo bat. It is a vital training aid that enables coaches to conduct countless fielding drills while significantly reducing athlete fatigue and injury risk.
Using a fungo bat has a lot of benefits. You will need the bat if you are a coach or parent trying to enhance your player’s defensive repertoire. A typical adult wooden baseball bat weighs between 27 and 31 ounces, and after a few rounds of pop-flies, it will seem as though you just completed a strenuous exercise.
You can hit ground balls and pop flies with a fungo bat all day long without feeling tired. The choice between a fungo bat and a regular bat for training is obvious. They have many benefits for practice even though they aren’t particularly useful in actual games.
These two types of bats are significantly dissimilar in their construction and design. The bat is longer, lighter, and thinner in its overall design.
What makes for a good fungo bat?
The best fungo bat is a necessity for any baseball or softball coach; fielding drills wouldn’t be complete without one. Baseball coaches all over the country and in the MLB favor these tools.
Because of their special shapes, they are lightweight and incredibly simple to swing, making it simple and painless to hit ground balls to infielders or fly balls to outfielders.
However, not all fungo bats are the same. Good bats are often lightweight, satisfy all your aesthetics, and are flexible. Additionally, for better control, you should go for a bat with a long barrel and a smooth balanced swing.
Also, another thing that must be kept in mind while purchasing a fungo bat is the price. You will find plenty of affordable bats all over the market. Reputable fungo producers place an emphasis on the right weight to strike a balance between swing ease and bat durability.
Some manufacturers of wood fungo bats prioritize getting rid of wood that they can’t otherwise utilize, which undercuts the customer.
Is wood or metal better for fungo bats?
It depends on how you use or misuse the bat to determine whether it should be made of wood or metal. The coach who has a tendency to not take care of their fungo tends to prefer metal bats. The likelihood that a coach will use a wood bat fungo typically increases with the coach’s level of commitment to his or her craft.
The vast majority of coaches believe that wood makes the best fungo bat because it allows for the greatest degree of control when hitting specific locations on the field. Even the best metal fungo has significant drawbacks, including the sting that metal causes when struck in colder weather.
Wood Fungo Bats VS Metal Fungo Bats – A comparison:
- The argument over whether to use a wood or metal bat seems to have no end. Performance, Affordability, and Safety are the three basic features that make the difference.
- For people whose palms sweat a lot, the conventional metal-bat style knob is useful since it catches your hand. For people who don’t want the knob thumping on their bottom hand, which can get unpleasant during practice, the flared knob is a decent option. The flared knob fungo is most frequently preferred by more inexperienced coaches.
- The best metal bats can withstand poor off-season storage (such as not in a controlled atmosphere or in a vertical position).
- Similarly, metal bats can resist the roughest use. You don’t have to take care of a metal bat like the way you should care for a wood fungo bat.
- A wood bat’s feel in your hands is one further benefit. While wood bat fungus come in two knob shapes, metal bats feature the conventional metal bat knob.
- As discussed before, one of the main reasons why wood fungo bats are preferred all around the globe is the annoying ping sound metal bats make. The repeated sound can cause a headache after long and tiring training drills.
What Fungo Bat does MLB use?
The following bats are quite popular among the MLB and many other coaches worldwide.
- SSK Wood Fungo Bat: Japanese white ash wood, which is dense, light, and resilient, is used in the building of the SSK. For improved control, it also sports a long barrel. This bat is also widely used by the MLB teams for understandable reasons.
- Easton MLF5 Maple Bat: This single-piece, all-purpose fungo wood bat is produced in the USA from North American maple that is extremely hard.
This traditional hardwood is strong and produces a cracking sound. The MLF5 has a pro-cupped end for better weight distribution and control over your swing and is strong and lightweight (22–24 oz). It is also widely used by the MLB teams. - Louisville Slugger K100 Ash Wood Bat: An all-purpose wood fungo bat, the Louisville Slugger Ash Fungo Bat is manufactured from Northern white ash. The K100 is lightweight and has a lovely, timeless appearance thanks to its natural wood finish.
It requires little effort to hit balls to outfielders because the K100 is end-loaded, which makes it simple to swing for extended periods without wearing out your arms. Its ease of use and weight are the reasons why this bat is popular among MLB teams. Similarly, the demand for this bat among other coaches is also pretty high.
Conclusion
It’s a good idea to try out the bat you plan to buy. If the manufacturer does not provide a risk-free trial period after purchase for the fungo, recommendations from friends and independent website reviews can assist you in deciding which fungo bat to purchase.
So, keep these keys in mind whether you want to test a fungo for the first time or need a new one for your collection. Each swing will become a little simpler and more deliberate, and you’ll also be producing better fielders as a result of adding a very helpful item to your coaching toolbox.
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I am Harry La, CEO for BaseballHub.Net – a baseball website and I am also a Baseball Writer. I am responsible for the publication of such articles as game recaps and previews, player interviews, coaching updates, and in-depth previews of upcoming games or series.
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