This college student braves Georgia heat to operate Macon Bacon’s old-school scoreboard

The Macon Bacon’s scoreboard operator says his least favorite part of the job is something you might not expect: Snakes.

“I think it was my first day, actually. I was on the scoreboard, and a snake fell off the top of the scoreboard onto the standing part right next to me, and we just looked at each other,” said Christian Kendrick, who can be seen doing the crucial job at every Macon Bacon home game this season.

Kendrick called his supervisor, Ben Remelius, who grabbed a rake.

“It’s really funny and kinda jarring to get a call that’s like, ‘there’s a snake up here,’” said Remelius.

The snake jumped down on its own without much rake prodding, and Kendrick returned to work.

Kendrick grew up in Macon and played baseball at Central High School, where his favorite position was right field. Now the 19-year-old is stationed behind right field the right field wall of Luther Williams Field, working on one of the oldest scoreboards in the country. It was built with the stadium in 1929.

Does heat bother Macon Bacon scoreboard operator?

Kendrick is a junior at Tennessee State University, majoring in human performance and sports science. He said he’s planning to get a master’s degree in sports management, and he wants to do something based in sports, though he’s not exactly sure what yet.

This summer, he wanted to get a job in athletics and work his way up to interning for the Bacon next year.

As for the Georgia heat, Kendrick says it’s not that bad.

“It’s hot but I’m not really doing a lot,” Kendrick said.

However, he does consistently get water bottles from the concession stand.

On his shifts, Kendrick said he sometimes listens to music to help him stay focused, and he has fun talking to some of the outfielders.

“I know one time — I can’t remember who was playing — He hit a home run and it went over the scoreboard,” Kendrick said. “He played outfield too, so when he came back he was like next time I’m gonna hit you with the next one.”

The man behind the hit was Catawba Valley Stars outfielder Asafa Jones, a Jackson State University freshman.

Kendrick said he’s also had conversations with people in the parking lot, who recognize him as the scoreboard guy. He enjoys those conversations, though the scoreboard isn’t the place you’d expect to find them.

“Interacting with people is probably the best part,” said Kendrick.