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Olivia Sayer
Georgia assistant coach Will Coggins talks to players during the final game of the NCAA Athens Regional between Georgia Tech and Georgia at Foley Field in Athens, Georgia, on Sunday, June 2, 2024. Georgia won 8-6. (Photo/Mady Mertens; MadyMertensPhotography)
Georgia baseball had no shortage of offensive highlights last season. When a Bulldog stepped into the batter’s box, not many fans left their seats, as they were eager to see which record the team shattered next.
While Foley Field’s short right porch and Georgia’s talented lineup factored into its success, assistant head coach/hitting coach Will Coggin said a “team mindset” also led to the stellar offensive output.
“[Head coach Wes Johnson] would talk to them all the time about the power of that G,” Coggin told The Red & Black. “How you represent something.”
In a game that praises the long ball, Coggin said Georgia coaches preached the idea of just getting on base. The Bulldogs built the mentality of earning free bases in practice, when coaches threw rag balls at players to simulate getting hit by pitches.
“It’s like the movie ‘Moneyball,’” Coggin said. “We don’t care how you get to first base as long as you get there.”
The power came shortly after, with the Bulldogs hitting a school-record 151 home runs. More impressively, the big-time numbers paired nicely with a decreased strikeout rate, which Coggin said is due to the team’s adamancy about “learning the strike zone right.”
The Bulldogs used a strike zone box similar to that of a major league baseball game in their scrimmages. Coggin said the TrackMan technology allowed the players to learn the zone, leading to the less-than-expected number of strikeouts.
The emphasis also played a role in Georgia posting a .433 on-base percentage, its first time over .400 since the 1987 season.
“They took ownership in, not only their swing decision, their strike zone discipline, but also in earning those free bases,” Coggin said. “And that’s kind of a team mindset too.”
The selflessness of Georgia’s batters put the Bulldogs in many favorable counts. The team led the SEC in on-base percentage and hit by pitches, while finishing second in home runs with the third-fewest strikeouts.
Coggin said even Georgia’s best hitters were comfortable moving the line for the Bulldogs behind him and pointed to Charlie Condon, who took 57 walks last season, as “one of the most unselfish players I’ve ever been around.”
On a team that was filled with 18 transfers, 10 incoming freshmen and several players in their last years of eligibility – not to mention the expectations plaguing today’s collegiate athletes — it would have been understandable for each player to focus on how he can pad his offensive stat line and do what’s best for him.
However, the Bulldogs took the opposite approach by focusing on what they could do to make the team better. As Coggin projected, many players saw career years as a result of embracing the coaches’ message.
“In the SEC when you win, you have a lot of players that are playing really well,” Coggin said of young athletes embracing the team mindset. “So it’s like, focus on what do I need to do for Georgia today, and if we win, then [a player] is probably going to have a pretty good year.”
Not trying to do too much and having trust in the players behind them also allowed the Bulldogs to relax at the plate, leading to good outcomes.
“The best approach when you get the batter’s box is, ‘What does my team need me to do right now?’” Coggin said. “And when you make it more about your team, it takes the pressure off you.”