SURPRISE, Ariz. – Arizona State sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston broke ASU’s single-season home run record, hitting his 28th blast of the season in the fourth inning against No. 22 Cincinnati in the Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinal.
He surpassed Mitch Jones’ record of 27, which he set in 2000. The sophomore’s two-run shot helped the Sun Devils jump out to a 7-1 lead, not only cementing Hairston in history but also making a postseason impact.
Other than the home run record, the Queen Creek native has been nominated for a multitude of awards, whether it is being named a Golden Spikes semi-finalist or becoming another Sun Devil to win conference player of the year. The sophomore joined names such as Jason Kipnis, Dustin Pedroia and even head coach Willie Bloomquist in that regard.
“Super honored,” Hairston said. “I’m super honored to be recognized with that award. I’m just blessed to be in this position and playing with these guys every single day. They make it easy to go out and play.”
Last season, Hairston struggled at times to find power in his swing, hitting just four long balls and even trying to utilize a teammate’s bat to spark him. Instead, the sophomore worked with his hitting coach, Jason Ellison, in the summer on fixing parts of his swing.
That, along with growing stronger, has propelled Hairston’s record-breaking season.
“We focused on staying on pitches,” Hairston said. “Last year, I would pull off a lot and hit a lot of ground balls to the right side. So, trying to eliminate those and stay through a little bit longer. Get in there, you could say. Just getting through balls and trusting my hands.”
Ellison played with a different Sun Devil legend in Barry Bonds. Bloomquist has said that Ellison has compared Hairston’s season to the likes of MLB’s leading home run hitter. With Ellison’s guidance, Hairston has propelled himself into the top five in a plethora of hitting categories, including home runs, batting average, hits and leading in slugging percentage.
“He talks about [Bonds] a lot,” Hairston said. “He said Barry is the only guy he’s seen master an approach and stick to it every at-bat. Hearing that Barry attacked every at-bat the same, that was the biggest growth in my game, just trying to attack every at-bat the same.”
While Hairston’s bat has been dominant all season long, the home runs paused for almost a month, putting the record in jeopardy. After hitting two long balls on April 22, Hairston’s power went cold for a span of 10 games, during which he remained at 25 home runs.
Even in that stretch, Hairston still hit .315.
“The kid had a phenomenal year,” Bloomquist said. “I’ve said it all along that Landon is just a flat-out pure hitter that just happens to hit home runs. He may not like this, but he’s not a home run hitter. He’s a pure hitter, a real hitter. The kid can go the other way; he goes in the gaps and takes his walks.”
Even with the single-season home run record in hand, Hairston is still only a sophomore and will look to take an even bigger step forward in his development as he continues his college career at ASU.
“A lot of growth for sure,” Hairston said. “Realizing some things about myself and my game, along with learning. I think that the biggest part is learning. I’m still learning every day. Nothing is ever a finished product in baseball.”
