News

This robot’s name is FungoMan and he just wants to play baseball with the Padres



By Corey Brock / MLB.com

For the past five years, “FungoMan” has collected dust and cobwebs in the back corner of the Padres’ covered batting cage at their Spring Training facility.

But this spring, the automated machine that directs fly balls to outfielders has finally seen the light of day—and so, too, have the Padres, who are raving about the machine.

The “FungoMan,” which resembles a pitching machine on wheels, has been used during the first few weeks of camp to spin balls of varying direction and distance to outfielders, replacing the job once done by coaches with a fungo bat.

Don’t feel bad for the coaches, though.

Full Story on MLB.com

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Manual Controller Drills Every High School Coach Should Own



While there’s no right or wrong way to use the FungoMan FM-250, great time-saving drills can make the difference between an average vs dynamic practice. There is no doubt that the FungoMan Wireless Remote can do incredible things, but what happens when you leave your remote controller at home? Or you have a new coach that has never used the Wireless Remote? Or, you simply want to set up a quick drill without setting up a program? No sweat. Today we’ve provided a clutch short list of quality settings on your manual controller that will keep your players coming back for more.

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San Diego State Making the Most of the FungoMan

Mark Martinez begins his first season as the head coach at San Diego State after nine years as an Aztec assistant coach under the late Tony Gwynn. Martinez helped Gwynn transform and build the program into what it is today. He has helped guide the Aztecs to three regional appearances in the past six years after an 18 year absence from the postseason. Along the way, he has guided the team to back-to-back Mountain West Championships. He has also helped build an academic program that saw the highest APR in the history of the program last season, as well as the most scholar-athletes and highest team GPA in the history of the program.

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Grinders Baseball Academy – Kelly Stinnett Baseball

The old saying “practice makes perfect” pretty accurately defines Kelly Stinnett Baseball. And Kelly Stinnett knows a lot about not only practicing, but practicing the right way. “I believe that you play the way you practice,” says Stinnett, a 15-year Major League Baseball veteran. “And if you practice correctly, that’s going to pay off come game-time.”

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7 Communication Plays that Win or Lose Baseball Games

Here are 7 plays that involve communication between players. The key to recording outs in each situations hinges on players’ ability to know their responsibilities, communicate properly to their teammate(s), and execute the required techniques. 

Adding this routine to the FungoMan wireless remote gives coaches and players a drill that will replicate these plays simply and accurately. The drill is most effective when run with the entire team on the field.

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Submit a Case – FM-250 Baseball

Sibley, LA – October 7, 2011 – Head Coach Bob Gray has been coaching in Northwest Louisiana for over 26 years. He has seen a lot of baseball both as a coach and as a father. However, it wasn’t until March of 2008, that he convinced the parents and boosters of his small community in Sibley, LA that they needed the FungoMan Automated Baseball Practice Machine. He was able to see the number of repetitions increase overnight. “I had the drills,” Gray said. “…and I knew what I wanted to accomplish. Now I had a tool that would help me accomplish more during the same amount of time.”

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Submit a Case: FM-250

Sibley, LA – October 7, 2011 – Head Coach Bob Gray has been coaching in Northwest Louisiana for over 26 years. He has seen a lot of baseball both as a coach and as a father. However, it wasn’t until March of 2008, that he convinced the parents and boosters of his small community in Sibley, LA that they needed the FungoMan Automated Baseball Practice Machine. He was able to see the number of repetitions increase overnight. “I had the drills,” Gray said. “…and I knew what I wanted to accomplish. Now I had a tool that would help me accomplish more during the same amount of time.”

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Press
SEPTEMBER 7, 2016 Four Ascension baseball players represent La. in tourney By Staff Report, The Advocate
MAY 18, 2016 Indoor/outdoor batting cages and more coming to south Buncombe
 By Emily Patrick, Citizen-Times
FEBRUARY 12, 2016 How San Diego’s Dave Roberts won the Los Angeles Dodgers over By Jeff Sanders, The San Diego Union-Tribune
MARCH 27, 2015 Lets Play Ball… With a Robot! By Angela Rolls, Jameco Electronics
FEBRUARY 27, 2015 Padres OFs rave about FungoMan By Kirk Kenney, The San Diego Union Tribune
OCTOBER 1, 2014 FungoMan gives Spiders a hand By John O’Connor, Richmond Times-Dispatch
MAY 8, 2014 New machine aids Orioles’ baseball practices By David Bossick, Ludington Daily News
APRIL 22, 2011 Student of the Game By John Roth, GoDuke The Magazine
SEPTEMBER 07, 2011 Startups Born from a Passion for Sports By Jason Fell, Entrepreneur Magazine
OCTOBER 15, 2010  By Brendan Corsones, Notre Dame Athletic News
MARCH 11, 2010 Gardner Bunting Way Into Girardi’s Good Graces By Ben Shpigel, The New York Times