Top 4 Best Fungo Bats You Need for This Season

Best Fungo Bats for This Season

The key to winning at baseball always starts with a good defense. And to have good defense, your players have to practice fielding the right way, with a fungo bat.

What You Will Learn

In this article we are going to cover the top 4 best fungo bats on the market today. This list of best fungo bats range from aluminum to bamboo and other materials, from relatively low prices all the way up the spectrum to a few hundred dollars. We will also cover the basics, like what a fungo bat is, why you need one, how to buy the right sized fungo bat, and more.

For fielding, you’ll want to simulate a game-hit ball as close as possible. You can rely on a machine or combine hitting and fielding practice, but a coach hitting the baseball into the field with a fungo bat is the most effective way to train game-like grounders, line drives, and pop flys.

Fungo bats make this possible by making it easy for coaches and parents to hit baseballs or softballs all over the field.

Due to their rising popularity and utility, there are tons of Fungo bats on the market, so it can be difficult to parse out which is the best.

We’ll help you out by reviewing what Fungo bats are good for and providing our top recommendations for the best Fungo bats.

Image	Fungo Bat	Popularity	Price
	Louisville Slugger Fungo K100		Check Price
	Brett Bros. 36" Maple Wood Fungo Bat		Check Price
	Diamond Sports Fungo Bat		Check Price
	DeMarini Wood Fungo Bat		Check Price

Best Fungo Bats for this Season

1. Louisville Slugger Fungo K100 Natural Baseball Fungo Bat

Louisville Slugger is a household name for producing excellent baseball equipment, and this Fungo bat is no different. This model is made of Northern White Ash, making it very lightweight while also giving it a natural feel as the ball comes off the bat. A softer swing will still produce considerable power due to the bat’s unique end-weight design. It also has a natural finish, making it one of the best fungo bats in terms of performance as well as looks.

Pros:

• #1 rated best fungo bat!

• Ash wood fungo bat

• 36” length

• Weighs only 1 pound

• Hit fly balls like a pro

Cons:

• Some customers report handle finish feeling rough

2. Brett Bros. 36" Maple Wood Fungo Baseball Bat

 3. Diamond Sports Fungo Bat

This is one of the shorter Fungo bats you’ll see, which makes it excellent for controlled infield practice. Diamond Kinetics is known for their swing analysis products, and they’ve expanded their offerings to a wider range of training products. A trusted MLB partner, they’ve hit it out of the park again with this simple, yet sleek Fungo bat.

Pros:

• Pro grade wood bat
• Great for fly balls and ground balls
• 33” length 

Cons:

• Higher price point

 4. DeMarini Wood Fungo Bat

This Fungo bat is suitable for coaches who prefer hitting with a wood bat. If players at your level hit with wood bats, it might be preferable to go with one of these to get close as possible to a game-like hit. The grip tape is also a handy addition that will give you a safer swing.

Pros:

• Wood bat

• Available in 35" / 23 oz.

• Black / Natural color

• Durable

Cons:

• Plastic handle

What is a Fungo bat?

A Fungo bat is essentially a practice bat that is designed to conserve the hitter’s stamina while allowing them to hit baseballs all over the field, allowing for an efficient fielding practice. The design gives more control to the user so they can better train their fielders.

Fungo bats are designed to be low weight, long, and produce a consistent swing. They are primarily used during practice to train specific fielding movements or for warm-up before a game.

Typically, they are so lightweight that they considerably weigh less than a regulation-size baseball, relieving stress from the hitter. Most often Fungo bats are constructed with a lightweight wood like ash wood or maple, but you will also find Fungo bats made of bamboo or even aluminum.

Because of their unique design, coaches and parents will have more control over where the balls go. So, if they want to train the shortstop in grounders to the player’s left then you can with a fungo bat.

It also saves a coach’s energy so they can train the players for longer and get every fielder’s reps up during practice.

For these reasons Fungo bats have become a very popular training tool as they protect the coaches and give the players a better practice session.

With that out of the way, let’s look at the best Fungo bats on the market.

Why use a Fungo bat?

The addition of a Fungo bat can greatly enhance your fielding training sessions. With a 35” bat like the SSK Z9 Professional Edge Coaches Wood Fungo Bat you can train both infield and outfield players in a variety of hits from grounders to line drives.

Due to its lightweight, a coach or trainer will have more control of the speed and placement of a hit ball. This means you can better tailor your hits to train specific fielding attributes.

Fungo bats also recreate a more game-like situation for a fielder than firing a ball out of a machine. The pop of the bat gives a more realistic feel that better translates to gameday.

The construction of Fungo bats also saves your coaches energy and protects their hands. As they’re designed for training, they can generate significant power without causing too much stress to the hitter.

Overall, a fungo bat can be used to give your players enhanced fielding training that better reflects what they will see in the game.

Fungo Bats vs Regular Bats

A Fungo bat may look similar in a picture to a regular bat, but Fungo bats are almost always lighter, thinner, and longer than a regulation sized bat. This gives the hitter more control over the bat and makes it easier to hit the ball in the sweet spot for consistent hits.

Regulation bats are heavier due to various regulations, but they also have to be sturdy and heavy enough to make contact with fast, pitched balls.

Fungo bats are designed specifically for fielding training in mind, so they do not have to comply with regulations that regular bats have to. Fungo bats are not for use in a game.

For these reasons, a high-quality Fungo bat is relatively cheap in comparison to a regular bat. That is part of what makes it such a great addition to a baseball or softball team’s training.

Wood or Metal Fungo Bats

You can find plenty of wood or aluminum Fungo bats on the market. The different make of the bats offers a different feel and functionality.

If you are familiar with a wood bat, then we highly recommend going with this material. Wood Fungo bats offer the most natural feel for the fielder and get closest to simulating what types of grounders, line drives, and pop flys your fielders will have to deal with.

The Louisville Slugger WBFN100-NA Fungo K100 Natural Baseball Bat is probably our favorite wooden bat. It’s lightweight and packs a punch that gives you awesome control.

While most of the bats on our list are made from wood, there are still great aluminum options on the market. If you are unfamiliar with using a wood bat, they are easier to get the hang of. Plus, if your players will face aluminum bats in games, it gives them an extra dose of what they’re likely to see on gameday.

The DeMarini Knock Bat is a solid aluminum Fungo bat that comes with a variety of size options, so you can have the most comfortable swing when you’re training your fielders.

Choosing the Right Weight and Size for Your Fungo Bat

Most Fungo bats are around the same light weight, but length is the most important factor to consider.

A longer bat will give you a greater capability to hit long fly balls for your outfielders. Of course, you sacrifice slightly on consistency and accuracy compared to a shorter Fungo bat, which is more suitable for infield practice.

As a rule of thumb, 35” bats are best for combo training, while 33” is best for infield training, and 37” is optimal for training outfielders.

Wrapping it up: What We Learned

At the end of the day, all of these Fungo bats on our Top 10 list do a great job. Hopefully, you are now armed with some new information that gives you a better idea of exactly the Fungo bat you need to get the most out of your fielding training. To learn more about bats, check out this article about the best wood bats for youth players!