Tony Vitello evaluates why Charlie Taylor has become a fan favorite

The Tennessee baseball team has earned enormous support from the program’s fanbase under Tony Vitello, and occasionally that support hones in on a real fan favorite or two. Catcher Charlie Taylor seems to fit that description personally.

The redshirt sophomore doesn’t catch every game, having started just 20 of the team’s 49 games this year.

But, man, do the fans love him.

“I think part of it is the way he plays the game,” Vitello said. “Our kids are pretty good about signing autographs or being involved in the community, so the people know who they are. I think that’s kind of what’s helped our fanbase grow, is there’s kind of a relationship there.”

Taylor made some memories for both himself and his ardent fans on Tuesday night in a game against Austin-Peay.

He came to bat with the bases loaded in the third inning, with the Volunteers leading 2-1. He wasted little time in appeasing his fans, smacking a grand slam to center field to plate all three base-runners.

As Vitello explained, the close relationship the fans have with the program puts everyone under a microscope. Good or bad.

“So probably if you’re someone who does something wrong, somebody probably gets a hold of that,” he said. “And when you do things right all the time, they’ve got that information as well. I think that’s who Chuck is. It just kind of got accentuated when he was thrown into a pretty interesting role in last year’s Regional and handled it so well. It’s fun to cheer for him. Some people are like that. But there’s a few reasons why (he’s such a fan favorite).”

On the season Taylor is hitting .227. He’s had 66 at-bats and has collected hits in 15 of them, with eight of them extra-base hits. He has five doubles, a triple and three homers. He’s got 11 RBI and has drawn 12 walks.

He’s been a fan favorite and a good source of energy for the Volunteers as they put the finishing touches on their NCAA Tournament resume down the stretch.

Tennessee currently stands at 33-16 overall and 12-12 in the SEC with a couple series to go.

The program will host Kentucky in a three-game series beginning on Friday, before hosting Belmont for a midweek game on May 16. The regular season will wrap up with a trip to SEC East foe South Carolina from May 18-20.

A recent projection from NOLA.com has Tennessee earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, headed to the Coral Gables Regional with Miami, Florida Gulf Coast and Oral Roberts.