The Fungo Bat: The Coach’s Secret Weapon

The Fungo Bat: The Coach’s Secret Weapon

Let’s talk about one of the most underrated tools in baseball: the fungo bat.

If you’re coaching—or even just the unlucky parent who said “sure, I’ll help out”—you’ve probably realized something: hitting fly balls and grounders to kids is harder than it looks. It’s a different kind of hitting, and if you’re out here swinging a full-size bat and launching knuckleballs into the outfield (or worse, straight into the dirt), you’re not alone.

That’s where the fungo bat comes in.

Why Do Coaches Use a Fungo?

A fungo bat is designed for one purpose: making it easier to hit accurate, controlled balls during fielding drills.

It’s long, lightweight, and perfectly balanced to let you flick fly balls, laser grounders, and pop-ups without gassing out your arms in five minutes. When you’re hitting dozens—sometimes hundreds—of balls at practice, that extra leverage and control is a game-changer.

One key skill in fungo hitting is the toss. Some coaches swear by the backhand toss (flipping the ball underneath the bat with the back of the hand), while others prefer the front-hand toss (tossing it in front of the bat with the palm facing up). I use the front-hand toss—it feels more natural and controlled to me—but plenty of skilled coaches argue the backhand toss is the way to go. Check out this video demonstrating both methods:

And if you really want to see what fungo mastery looks like, this is what we should all aspire to. Accurate, consistent, and pure rock-star awesome. The Eddie Van Halen of fungo work:

If the dugout is the beating heart of the team, those fungo reps build the confidence that makes it pump.

Fungo vs. The Alternatives

1. A Regular Bat (The “I’ll Just Use This” Approach)

Using a normal bat for hitting grounders and fly balls is like using a sledgehammer to tap in a thumbtack—it works, but you’ll be exhausted in no time. The weight and short length make it harder to control, especially for pop flies.

2. A Louisville Slugger 3 Series (The Schwarzenegger Plan)

If your goal is to develop absolutely massive forearms and impress the other dads at the BBQ, this absolute unit of a bat is for you.

It’s big, it’s heavy, and if you hit 100 balls a day with it, you’ll gain arms to rival Schwarzenegger in his prime. Is it the best choice for coaching? No. Will it make you a legend in the dugout? Absolutely.

3. A Fungo Racket (The Fly Ball Cheat Code)

Fungo rackets—like this one from Primed or this Jikbeed model—are a game-changer for hitting high, consistent fly balls with minimal effort.

4. The Random Kids’ Bat (Pure Chaos)

If you’ve ever tried hitting grounders with an old 29-inch bat you found in the garage, you already know—this is a wild card. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t. Either way, your forearms will be sore tomorrow.

And when it comes to choosing the right tool, I’ve been through it. The bat that won the season for my kid wasn’t the flashiest one—it was the one that felt right. Same goes for a fungo.

5. The Fungo (The Right Tool for the Job)

The fungo is built for exactly this. You get easy control, consistent hits, and less wear and tear on your body. Whether it’s crisp grounders, line drives, or pop-ups, it just makes everything smoother.

Want an all-metal fungo? Easton’s got one here. Prefer wood? Check out this Brett Bros. model in an absolutely gorgeous Dodger Blue that will make the other dads jealous.

Finding the Right Fungo: My Journey

I tried a few different options before landing on the Warstic Bonesaber 35" 22 oz fungo.

Then I saw the Bonesaber. And listen, I’m going to be honest here—the first thing that caught my eye? The look.

It just looked cool. That black finish, the clean design—everything about it screamed this is the fungo of legends. But what really made it my forever fungo?

It was a birthday gift from my family.

That automatically made it the ultimate best option for me. Let’s be real—if they had wrapped up a pool noodle and called it a fungo, I’d probably be out there singing its praises as the best training tool on the market.

But hey, this bat really did turn out to be the perfect fungo for me.

Bottom Line

A fungo bat isn’t just about making your life easier—it’s about making you a better coach.

If you take the time to get better at hitting grounders, your kids will get better at fielding them. If you work on hitting pop flies with accuracy, your outfielders will improve faster. If you push yourself to improve, your whole team benefits.

So yeah, you could use a random kids’ bat or a giant Slugger. You might even grab a fungo racket when you need to launch perfect flies. But if you really want to do it right?

Get a fungo. Learn to use it. And never stop improving.





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