‘A Front-Row Seat To Awesomeness’
May 20, 2024 | Baseball, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
In a season and a two-year Georgia baseball playing career that will be forever remembered for their eye-popping numbers, perhaps no statistic says more about the hitter Charlie Condon has become than intentional walks.
A year ago, in his first season playing on the Georgia baseball team, Condon was one of the best hitters in the SEC and an All-American. He finished with a .386 average and hit 25 homers, yet he only drew three intentional walks in 56 games. In 2024, when the redshirt sophomore and former walk-on has become, simply, the best hitter in college baseball, he has been walked intentionally 23 times in 53 games.
On May 11, as Georgia wrapped up a sweep at South Carolina, the Gamecocks twice elected to walk Condon to load the bases, and it's not like the Bulldogs are a one-man show. This team heads into this week's SEC tournament having already hit a program-record 140 homers (third-most in Division I), plus 110 doubles. That's a bit of Barry Bonds-like fear and respect for what Condon is doing.
Opposing teams are right to be wary of the 6-foot-6 and 216-pounder from Marietta, Ga., who for a while in high school looked more likely to wind up playing football and baseball at Rhodes College in Memphis, than becoming one of the best college baseball players in the country and a possible No. 1 pick in the upcoming Major League Baseball draft. On Monday, the conference announced that Condon was the SEC Player of the Year.
Frankly, it's a little surprising, given his beyond-belief numbers, that he hasn't been given more free passes to first base. Watching Condon step toward the batter's box, one part of the brain is excited to see what he'll do next if given the chance, while another part is asking the obvious question: why in the world would you pitch to this guy?
About those incredible Condon numbers, here's where they stand heading into Tuesday's SEC tourney opener against LSU in Hoover, Ala.:
Home runs: 35 (leads all of Division 1; is the most ever at Georgia, far surpassing the previous mark of 28 set by Gordon Beckham in 2008; Condon's 60 career homers are also a program record; is the most in a season since 2011, when separate NCAA records started being kept after the switch to composite bats)
Batting average: .451 (leads Division 1; on pace to be one of the top three highest season averages in program history)
Slugging percentage: 1.063 (leads Division 1; has 219 total bases in 206 at-bats; two total bases shy of Beckham's record of 221)
On-base percentage: .567 (ranks third in Division 1 and second on the team behind leadoff hitter Corey Collins' .586)
Hits: 93 (ranks second in Division 1; Condon heads into the postseason riding a 24-game hit streak, with 11 multi-hit games among them)
So, yeah, you might say he's having a good season.
"It's a front-row seat to awesomeness," shortstop Kolby Branch of playing alongside Condon. "When he steps up to the plate, it's a calming feeling because chances are it's going to be a good at-bat. ... When you're around somebody like that, you tend to get better, and he makes the people around him better.
Branch is fourth on the team with 15 home runs, including three grand slams. In fact, the only empty spot on Condon's resume this season is in grand slams. While Branch, Slate Alford and Fernando Gonzalez have hit three apiece, and the Bulldogs have collectively hit 11, none of Condon's 35 dingers have been of the grand variety.
Regardless, Collins, Georgia's leadoff hitter and the Division I leader in on-base percentage, likes being on base, and has been often, when Condon sends one over the fence.
"It makes it easier for me, I don't have to run as fast," Collins said with a smile.
Watching what Condon has done in his two seasons as a Bulldog brings a special name to mind: Brock Bowers. The former Georgia tight end didn't completely come out of nowhere the way Condon has — Bowers was a four-star recruit out of Napa, Calif. — but it's safe to say that nobody foresaw him becoming the elite and explosive offensive weapon that he did practically from Day One.
As a freshman, Bowers led Georgia in receptions (56), receiving yards (882) and touchdown catches (13). He also showed off speed and athleticism the likes of which we hadn't seen from a tight end, like the short pass he caught and turned into an 89-yard touchdown against UAB, outrunning everybody on the field to the end zone. That catch and run was in the second game of his career, and he already looked ready for the NFL.
Bowers finished his three-year career, despite a senior season slowed by an ankle injury, with 175 catches for 2,538 yards and 26 touchdowns. He also had 19 rushes for 193 yards and five touchdowns, and helped the Bulldogs win two national championships.
Along with sharing a quick rise to stardom, Condon and Bowers also share a similar demeanor. They both give off low-key, life-is-better-out-of-the-spotlight vibes. Both would much rather talk about their teammates than themselves.
"He's a superstar off the field more than he is on the field," Branch said. "He's a great kid and I've got nothing but good things to say about him."
Back in February, Georgia pitcher Josh Roberge was asked during a Quick Chat if there was one strikeout in his entire baseball career that stood out above the rest. After mentioning losing a head-to-head battle with his cousin once in high school, Roberge, a transfer in his first season with the Bulldogs, then talked about his practice battles with Condon.
"All the other strikeouts that I've had, they've just been because of an executed pitch. But in terms of the guy that's probably the best guy that I've struck out, it's probably Charlie," Roberge said. "He's had my number recently, but I struck him out a couple of times in the fall.
"If you can strike out him, you can get anybody out in the country."
We should all savor this final stretch of Condon's magical season, just as we did Bowers' 2023 season on the football field before he was selected No. 13 overall in the NFL draft. Condon will surely soon be moving on to the next level, and it's unlikely we'll see anyone doing the things he's doing anytime soon. It's been incredible to watch, and hopefully the magic show continues in the postseason.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
