TEMPE, Ariz. -- Of the 14 home runs Spencer Torkelson had hit before this weekend's series with USC, Sun Devil Baseball head coach Tracy Smith has two favorites.
The first came April 3 in a game against Cal State Fullerton at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
"He fouls off a bunch of pitches, has a 10-, 11-, 12 pitch at-bat and he ends up hitting an opposite field home run 400-some feet," Smith said. "That's pretty hard to do. That falls in the mature at-bat category. You would classify that as a major league at-bat."
The second one came on Feb. 28.
"In the immature, 'oh wow', historic, legendary category, I would have to say it would be the [second] home run he hit at Long Beach [State]," Smith said. "That ball was hit."
The two home runs displayed the opposite poles of Torkelson's power-hitting prowess, but when asked for his favorite of the 14, Torkelson offered a glimpse of the lovable, humble freshman that has taken Sun Devil baseball by surprising storm.
It wasn't No. 12, the home run that broke Barry Bonds' freshman record, against Washington State on March 29. It wasn't the bomb Smith referenced or the technician's tater that he hit against Fullerton.
It was No. 11 against UCLA on March 24.
"The one to tie it, for sure," Torkelson said, "because I tripped over first base. I went diving in the middle of first and second base. I don't even think I was embarrassed. It was just fun."
Torkelson has been the story of the Sun Devils' first half. He entered the series against the Trojans tied for the NCAA and Pac-12 leads in home runs with Illinois' Bren Spillane and Cal's Andrew Vaughn. He was second in the Pac-12 in slugging percentage (.743), fifth in runs (25), sixth in RBIs (28) and third in total bases (81), sacrifice flies (4-tied) and plate appearances (132).
"Very, very short compact swing," Smith said, when dissecting Torkelson's motion. "He doesn't do a lot of movement and when you don't do a lot of extra movement then you eliminate a chance for mistakes."
When Torkelson hit No. 12, he received a deluge of text messages and phone calls from family and friends.
"It's overwhelming sometimes," he said. "You want to respond to every one. You don't want to make someone feel like you don't care about them anymore."
Despite the wave of public attention and the spate of media interviews, Smith hasn't seen the slightest change in the blossoming 6-foot-1, 205-pound freshman from Petaluma, California.
"I'm not with him 24/7, but he doesn't bring it to the yard or carry himself like he's a prima donna," Smith said. "To me, he's handling it really well."
Torkelson hit a total of 11 home runs in his four years at Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, about 30 miles north of San Francisco. Not a single Major League Baseball team drafted him. Smith jokes that scouts are covering for themselves by saying nobody saw this power surge coming, but he admits it is true.
"I don't know that anybody really did," Smith said. "We knew he was good. Guys just mature, they figure things out, they get stronger."
Torkelson had a good power-hitting role model growing up: Bonds.
"I was a big Giants fan and he was on the Giants so I would always follow him," Torkelson said. "Whenever you'd go to a Giants game, you knew Barry Bonds was going to hit a home run. It was kind of a given.
"He was a great hitter all-around. He had a beautiful swing. Guys would try to throw 98 mile-per-hour fastballs inside on him and he'd just turn on it and hit it into McCovey Cove. He could take it the other way, too. You couldn't get him out. There wasn't a pitch you could throw to him that could get him out."
Torkelson has always had a good eye at the plate -- a good knowledge of the strike zone -- and that has clearly served him well this season. He worked with Joey Gomes, the brother of Diamondbacks rookie league hitting coach Jonny Gomes. He also heeded his uncle's mantra, 'quick hands, quick hips.'
When he arrived at ASU, however, he found himself trying to "get big and tighten up" as he tried to muscle pitches out of the park. He didn't realize the advantages his maturing body was giving him.
"I didn't realize my strength," he said. "I can just put my best swing on the ball now and it will go. I put in a lot of work in the offseason with J-Robb [Jason Robbins], our trainer and then it's about maturity, knowing I could do things without really trying; let my body do the work."
Torkelson is far from satisfied. He is still adjusting to a new position, first base, which he has been playing since the fall. He made a pair of errors in that aforementioned Fullerton game. Both came in the ninth inning, resulting in three runs that allowed Fullerton to rally from a 4-2 deficit to a 7-6 win.
"I still need work everywhere," he said. "I'm batting .280. I'm not satisfied with that at all. I need to get my average up and maybe swing at more two-strike pitches. I need some work at first base. I let some slip [against Fullerton]. I am learning from that. I'm young but I'll put the work in and learn from it."
With Bonds' record in the rearview mirror, some have begun to mention Mitch Jones' single-season record of 27 home runs set in 2000. Torkelson's response has been the equivalent of sticking a finger in each ear and shouting "la, la, la" repeatedly.
"They're chirping at me but I'm not listening," he said, laughing. "I just want to keep doing my thing. You've just got to enjoy the ride. Don't get too high; don't get too low. Just stay where you were when you didn't have all the attention."
There are plans to move the fences in after this season at cavernous Phoenix Municipal. Depending on the part of the field, assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Ben Greenspan said the fences would be moved in between 10 and 20 feet.
"He'd probably already have it, I am not kidding you," Smith said of Jones' record. "If our fences had moved, he'd probably have 20 by now. He may not get it this year, but I'll bet he'll make a push at some point."
Whether Torkelson reaches that milestone or not, Smith said he wants to see one more type of home run added to Torkelson's repertoire this season.
"I'm waiting for the walk-off home run," Smith said.
The first came April 3 in a game against Cal State Fullerton at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
"He fouls off a bunch of pitches, has a 10-, 11-, 12 pitch at-bat and he ends up hitting an opposite field home run 400-some feet," Smith said. "That's pretty hard to do. That falls in the mature at-bat category. You would classify that as a major league at-bat."
The second one came on Feb. 28.
"In the immature, 'oh wow', historic, legendary category, I would have to say it would be the [second] home run he hit at Long Beach [State]," Smith said. "That ball was hit."
Holy #TorkelBomb!
— Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) March 1, 2018
The freshman dopes it AGAIN. His second dinger of the game, his sixth of the season and this one went about 500 feet.
We don't have an exact measurement, so you'll just have to take our word.
13-4, LBSU. pic.twitter.com/Q6XiavQDAx
The two home runs displayed the opposite poles of Torkelson's power-hitting prowess, but when asked for his favorite of the 14, Torkelson offered a glimpse of the lovable, humble freshman that has taken Sun Devil baseball by surprising storm.
It wasn't No. 12, the home run that broke Barry Bonds' freshman record, against Washington State on March 29. It wasn't the bomb Smith referenced or the technician's tater that he hit against Fullerton.
It was No. 11 against UCLA on March 24.
"The one to tie it, for sure," Torkelson said, "because I tripped over first base. I went diving in the middle of first and second base. I don't even think I was embarrassed. It was just fun."
Torkelson has been the story of the Sun Devils' first half. He entered the series against the Trojans tied for the NCAA and Pac-12 leads in home runs with Illinois' Bren Spillane and Cal's Andrew Vaughn. He was second in the Pac-12 in slugging percentage (.743), fifth in runs (25), sixth in RBIs (28) and third in total bases (81), sacrifice flies (4-tied) and plate appearances (132).
"Very, very short compact swing," Smith said, when dissecting Torkelson's motion. "He doesn't do a lot of movement and when you don't do a lot of extra movement then you eliminate a chance for mistakes."
When Torkelson hit No. 12, he received a deluge of text messages and phone calls from family and friends.
"It's overwhelming sometimes," he said. "You want to respond to every one. You don't want to make someone feel like you don't care about them anymore."
Despite the wave of public attention and the spate of media interviews, Smith hasn't seen the slightest change in the blossoming 6-foot-1, 205-pound freshman from Petaluma, California.
"I'm not with him 24/7, but he doesn't bring it to the yard or carry himself like he's a prima donna," Smith said. "To me, he's handling it really well."
Torkelson hit a total of 11 home runs in his four years at Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, about 30 miles north of San Francisco. Not a single Major League Baseball team drafted him. Smith jokes that scouts are covering for themselves by saying nobody saw this power surge coming, but he admits it is true.
"I don't know that anybody really did," Smith said. "We knew he was good. Guys just mature, they figure things out, they get stronger."
Torkelson had a good power-hitting role model growing up: Bonds.
"I was a big Giants fan and he was on the Giants so I would always follow him," Torkelson said. "Whenever you'd go to a Giants game, you knew Barry Bonds was going to hit a home run. It was kind of a given.
"He was a great hitter all-around. He had a beautiful swing. Guys would try to throw 98 mile-per-hour fastballs inside on him and he'd just turn on it and hit it into McCovey Cove. He could take it the other way, too. You couldn't get him out. There wasn't a pitch you could throw to him that could get him out."
Torkelson has always had a good eye at the plate -- a good knowledge of the strike zone -- and that has clearly served him well this season. He worked with Joey Gomes, the brother of Diamondbacks rookie league hitting coach Jonny Gomes. He also heeded his uncle's mantra, 'quick hands, quick hips.'
When he arrived at ASU, however, he found himself trying to "get big and tighten up" as he tried to muscle pitches out of the park. He didn't realize the advantages his maturing body was giving him.
"I didn't realize my strength," he said. "I can just put my best swing on the ball now and it will go. I put in a lot of work in the offseason with J-Robb [Jason Robbins], our trainer and then it's about maturity, knowing I could do things without really trying; let my body do the work."
Torkelson is far from satisfied. He is still adjusting to a new position, first base, which he has been playing since the fall. He made a pair of errors in that aforementioned Fullerton game. Both came in the ninth inning, resulting in three runs that allowed Fullerton to rally from a 4-2 deficit to a 7-6 win.
"I still need work everywhere," he said. "I'm batting .280. I'm not satisfied with that at all. I need to get my average up and maybe swing at more two-strike pitches. I need some work at first base. I let some slip [against Fullerton]. I am learning from that. I'm young but I'll put the work in and learn from it."
With Bonds' record in the rearview mirror, some have begun to mention Mitch Jones' single-season record of 27 home runs set in 2000. Torkelson's response has been the equivalent of sticking a finger in each ear and shouting "la, la, la" repeatedly.
"They're chirping at me but I'm not listening," he said, laughing. "I just want to keep doing my thing. You've just got to enjoy the ride. Don't get too high; don't get too low. Just stay where you were when you didn't have all the attention."
There are plans to move the fences in after this season at cavernous Phoenix Municipal. Depending on the part of the field, assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Ben Greenspan said the fences would be moved in between 10 and 20 feet.
"He'd probably already have it, I am not kidding you," Smith said of Jones' record. "If our fences had moved, he'd probably have 20 by now. He may not get it this year, but I'll bet he'll make a push at some point."
Whether Torkelson reaches that milestone or not, Smith said he wants to see one more type of home run added to Torkelson's repertoire this season.
"I'm waiting for the walk-off home run," Smith said.