If Spencer Torkelson's been there, chances are he's cleared the fence. He's hit homers everywhere in America from California to Cape Cod.
But he hasn't seen Comerica Park, where homers go to die.
Then again: Comerica Park hasn't seen Spencer Torkelson.
"To be honest, I'm not worried about it at all," Torkelson told the Jamie and Stoney Show. "You just focus on hitting the ball and squaring it up. And I think with my power and strength, it'll find its way over the fence one way or another."
Spoken like a true slugger. And can you blame him? Torkelson hit 25 bombs as a freshman at Arizona State, shattering a record previously held by Barry Bonds. Then he hit 23 more as a sophomore. And he was on pace to blow past the school's all-time record before the 2020 season was canceled.
The first time Alan Trammell watched him play, Torkelson hit a ball 435 feet -- on a 3-2 pitch, no less. That was about all Trammell needed to see to know Torkelson's power will translate to the majors.
"It's going to play in Comerica Park. It's one of the bigger ballparks in baseball, but no ballpark's going to hold Tork," said Trammell.
Torkelson and the Tigers aren't worried about the transition from aluminum to wood either. Over 30 games in the Cape Cod Summer League, the premier wood-bat training grounds, Torkelson hit nine homers and posted a 1.229 OPS.
"I really enjoy swinging the wood bat. The sound is so pure," he said. "I got a little tired of hitting in a cage with an aluminum bat, so the wood bat's a nice change. With wood bats, it's not much of a difference for me. You just have to focus on hitting the barrel more, which I think might be even better because there's less forgiveness with wood."
Torkelson didn't know it, but Trammell was watching him closely in approach of the draft. The endorsement from the Hall-of-Famer and franchise icon only added to Torkelson's fairytale experience of being picked No. 1 overall.
