A few weeks ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers in Phoenix. This allowed me to see Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani play at Chase Field. The Diamondbacks chose to pitch to him.
The Diamondbacks chose to pitch to him. Ohtani didn’t hit a ball out of the infield in four trips to the plate, which was overtly disappointing. As a guest of the Diamondbacks, I wanted the home team to win, but seeing Ohtani blast a pitch in the outfield bleachers would have been a signature moment.
Upon leaving, I suddenly thought of Charlie Condon, UGA’s remarkable slugger, nonpareil. The expectations for this Marietta native flashed through my mind’s eye. When he comes to bat at Foley Field, there are often boos, not for the Ozark Ike of Bulldog baseball, but for the pitchers who intentionally walk Condon.
For those who pitch to the record-setting Bulldog star, there is a sigh of disappointment from the home team fans if No. 24 does not thunder a pitch into the 30-foot pine trees just beyond the left field fence.
It is a picturesque and memorable moment when he does go the distance. He swings through the ball fluidly and effortlessly – like Tiger Woods’ tee shots in his early years on the PGA tour. Cannonade Charlie’s home runs have the thrust of a rocket lifting up and away at Cape Canaveral.
Condon has played at third and first base and all three outfield positions at Georgia but thinks a corner outfield position would be best for him in professional ball. He already knows what it is like to hit in a big-league park. While playing in the Cape Cod League last summer, Condon got to take a few swings in Fenway Park. He powered a homer to deep left-center toward the Citgo sign, which quickly would have cleared the Green Monster.
Talking with Alan Butts, a Braves scout, he lamented the Braves don’t have the first pick in the draft this year. As an outfielder, Butts says Condon has a “plus” arm, which means “better than average.” When he talks to other scouts, there is consensus that Condon (6-foot-6, 216) has remarkable “athleticism” for his size.
“He really has excellent movement,” Butts says. “His power and athleticism are remarkable. He has long arms like Dale Murphy and Kris Bryant … He gets significant leverage with those long arms.
Condon’s arms and athleticism enable him to generate the power that makes him a slugger who turns heads. His 36 home runs thus far this season are confirmation that when he makes solid contact, the ball is on the way to Foley’s thicket of pines.
Growing up, Condon saw his body develop a little slower than with other kids in his grade. Still, he had a sense of maturity about that, never crying and complaining or feeling any urgency to eat more steaks and drink more milkshakes. He was compatible with the work ethic and discipline. He could spend hours in a batting cage, bent on improving his swing.
No college scouts were beating down his door. “I was undersized and underdeveloped and wasn’t ready to be looked at as a college prospect,” he said.
His insights are wise and poignant. As his body frame matured, Condon realized that if nature blessed him physically, there was more to it than having a big frame. “I had to learn how to use size to my advantage,” he said.
“I just had to be patient and try to learn, which is what was very helpful for me, gaining a competitive edge playing against kids who were bigger, stronger, and better at the game than I was.”
Family is essential to Condon, too. His family's influence is not lost on him. His older brother, Matt, was his best friend, and he got the most excellent support from his sister, Sarah. His parents, Jim and Rebecca, were always encouraging and challenging him, not doting on him to be a superstar.
“They influenced me to try to be a good human being first – having good habits and treating other people right. The priority in my life is to be a good teammate first and to enjoy my teammates.”
Condon circles back to underscore the importance of relationships.
“I want to be a guy who people enjoy playing with. That will not happen if you are a nightmare to play with on the field. I want to be that over all that other stuff,” he said, meaning headlines, accolades, and individual recognition.
Coming to Athens became a family tradition for the Condons when his first cousin, Owen Condon, played tackle for the 2021 National Champion Dawgs.
These days, you might find a heavy dose of sentimentality in Condon, who experiences an emotional high when he walks the campus to attend class at the Terry College of Business. “It gives me the greatest feeling to have that experience.” He smiles and adds, “Yes, I will 100 percent finish my degree someday. That is very important to me and my family.”
When COVID turned everything upside down, Condon initially considered a small-school opportunity but kept holding out hope to find a way to compete at the highest level. He felt deep inside that he could be successful, and then former Bulldog coach Scott Stricklin offered him a preferred walk-on opportunity.
Even today, His reaction to that is absolutely reverent, “Awesome.” You can add a fistful of exclamation points to that comment.