Golden Hour: Texas 1B Ivan Melendez Named Finalist for Golden Spikes
If there was ever any doubt that Texas Longhorns slugger Ivan Melendez would be named a finalist for the prestigious Golden Spikes Award following what was a historic season, those doubts were laid to rest on Wednesday afternoon.
The Golden Spikes Award, given out by USA Baseball, is the most prestigious award in college baseball, one that no Longhorn baseball player has ever won in its long history.
However, with the announcement that he would be one of three finalists Melendez stands perhaps the best chance in Longhorn history to finally claim the award for one of the sports blue bloods.
Melendez joins Oregon State's Cooper Hjerpe and Georgia Tech's Kevin Parada as a finalist, as all three had dominant seasons. However, at the end of the day only one can take home the Golden Spikes.
Looking at the numbers, it would be hard to pick any player other than Melendez following what might be one of the best seasons in the history of college baseball.
Not only does Melendez have an NCAA best 30 home runs and counting on the season, the first time a player has launched 30 home runs since Kris Bryant, but he leads the country and conference in several offensive categories.
He would take home the triple crown in the Big 12, hitting .409 with 30 home runs while driving in 90 runs, while not quite taking home the NCAA triple crown. Despite that though he is top-10 in a litany of other offensive categories, displaying true light tower power while not letting it affect his ability to hit for average.
The winner of the Golden Spikes Award will be announced on June 24, when Melendez aims to be the first Longhorn to ever win the award. His numbers speak for themselves, as Melendez should undoubtedly be your 2022 Golden Spikes winner.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
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