From East Carolina to the Citadel, Texas Longhorns pick their favorite Ivan Melendez homer
During the 2022 baseball season, Texas slugger Ivan Melendez hit 32 home runs.
That is a school record for a baseball program that was founded in 1895. No Division I player has homered more in the BBCOR bat era, which started in 2011 when a new standard of bat, designed to perform more like a wooden one, was introduced.
So of those 32 home runs, which one was Melendez's favorite?
Was it the one he hit at Houston’s Minute Maid Park against UCLA or the one he hit at Arlington’s Globe Life Field against Oklahoma? Maybe one of his NCAA Tournament bombs against Air Force and East Carolina? Perhaps it was one of his many moonshots? Or maybe the homers that broke records?
“I don't think I can name one,” Melendez said after winning the 2022 Golden Spikes Award on Friday. “They all mean a lot.”
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Though he was hesitant to pick a favorite, his teammates weren't when asked Friday. Texas coach David Pierce also had a home run that he thought stood out among the rest.
TO THE MOON.
NUMBER 31 FOR THE HISPANIC TITANIC. #HookEm | @ivanmelendez17_ pic.twitter.com/br2GeUGvGh— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) June 10, 2022
Texas coach David Pierce: No. 31 at East Carolina on June 10
"No doubt, it's the first one he hit at East Carolina. It looked like somebody teed up a golf ball, and he hit it with a driver over the trees, however far it was. It was by far the most impressive home run that he hit this year and maybe that I've ever seen."
HISPANIC TITANIC STRIKES AGAIN 🔥🔥
Stop pitching to Ivan Melendez. 3 HR this weekend. pic.twitter.com/ETlnkDCjQA— 11Point7: The College Baseball Podcast 🎙 (@11point7) March 13, 2022
Texas pitcher Tristan Stevens: No. 7 at South Carolina on March 13
"There's so many highlights, he has about a Top 10 in my head. I think one that stands out was when we played South Carolina and he hit the farthest baseball I've ever seen in my life. I think it was the one that was 490-something feet, but I swear it went 500-plus because it hit the house or the building past the trees in dead center field in South Carolina against a really good pitcher. I remember everyone at that stadium couldn't even believe it, it was pretty quiet. Yeah, it definitely just kind of goes to show that what he has is something you can't teach. I think that's what makes him so special."
FAIR BALL!@ivanmelendez17_ hits one sky high over the LF wall and the Horns lead, 2-0!#HookEm pic.twitter.com/eOMVZP6bFy
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) May 7, 2022
Texas pitcher Pete Hansen: No. 23 at West Virginia on May 7
"The one he hit at West Virginia was probably the coolest because right after he hit it, he pretty much gave up on it and thought it was a foul ball. So did everyone in our dugout. But the wind was howling that day; it was blowing out to right field, so he hit it so far to the left that it just somehow got inside that foul pole. It was against a good West Virginia pitcher, and it was the spark plug to our offense that day.
"I think that was probably my most memorable one from this year. But every time that guy steps to the plate, he's got a chance to hit the ball a long way, obviously. I kind of lost count on them because it just seemed like it happened so often."
3-RUN TITANIC 💣! @ivanmelendez17_ with his 32nd HR of the season! 😱
📺 ESPNNEWS#RoadToOmaha x @TexasBaseball pic.twitter.com/txXymF91KW— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 12, 2022
Texas third baseman Skyler Messinger: No. 32 at East Carolina on June 12
"The super regional one was pretty sweet. Gosh, there's so many. The South Carolina one. The other one that he hit in East Carolina, I think that was the farthest ball I've ever seen him hit. Just all of them, he's been an absolute blast to watch. Your jaw just drops at some of the swings he takes."
ATTA BOY!! Ivan with the clutch, 3-run HR in the 9th to give @TexasBaseball the lead!!! @CBS4Local @KFOX14 @tbirdbaseball1 @ivanmelendez17_ @jhmelendez3 pic.twitter.com/XFo7xIwagW
— Lou Romano (@915Romano) June 26, 2021
Texas pitcher Lucas Gordon: 2021 homer against Mississippi State at the College World Series
"They were all bombs (this season). But obviously the one that everyone will remember is the one at the College World Series last year against Mississippi State."
Ivan Melendez with the monster blast and the monster bat flip! pic.twitter.com/LjFyh4Lsip
— Hook'em Headlines (@HookemHeadlines) March 12, 2022
LITERALLY ON A LINE.
THE HISPANIC TITANIC IS UNREAL. #HookEm | @ivanmelendez17_ 🚢 pic.twitter.com/C9L5aQDEu6— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) March 17, 2022
Texas outfielder Dylan Campbell: No. 6 at South Carolina on March 12 or No. 8 at the Citadel on March 16
"That's tough. I liked that South Carolina one where he flipped the bat. He had a couple cool ones (on that road trip). The Citadel, the one that probably got 40 feet off the ground, went to right-center. Definitely the Omaha one in 2021."
Ivan Melendez ties Kris Bryant for most single-season home runs during the BBCOR-era with his 31st bomb 💣 @TexasBaseball pic.twitter.com/73EVKyWVC1
— College Baseball Hub (@CollegeBSBHub) June 10, 2022
Texas pitcher Jared Southard: No. 31 at East Carolina on June 10
"Probably the one at ECU. He said he looked it up on his phone after, and it was in the street about 500 feet. The stadium went silent. It was a ball I've never seen hit before, and I've seen him hit some balls far. It was really cool."
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas baseball teammates, coach pick their top Ivan Melendez home run