Is Mark Payton the best UT Hitter ever?
Mark Payton just tied former "Big 12 Player of the Year" Nick Martini (KSU) by reaching base in 93 consecutive games. It's a fascinating record. A player needs consistent hits and walks, longevity and extreme mental toughness.
Coincidentally, both players are from the Chicago area.
Payton needs one more hit (or walk) this Saturday to own the record outright. Either way, Mark Payton's contribution to Longhorn baseball history is officially secure.
Payton is now an official Longhorn Legend.
Playing at a school famous for their pitching legacy, Mark stands very tall at only 5 feet and 7 inches.
Names like Clemens, Swindell, Hooton, Street, Kieschnick, Schiraldi, Dressendorfer, Jungmann, Workman, these players don't need first names. People know them. Payton is one of those now.
So, who are the BEST hitters in Longhorn history? That's a very complex question. Why? Because many of the best UT hitters never faired too well in pro baseball. Without that stage, it's hard to create a Clemens/Swindell/Moreland legacy.
That said, here's a very debatable starter list.
Keith Moreland, Dustin Majewski, Omar Quintanilla, Jeff Ontiveros, Bill Bates, Brian Cisarik, Scott Bryant, David Denny, Kyle Russell, Kevin Keyes, Drew Stubbs, Brandon Belt, Mike Brumley and many more.
If you were to look at the best hitters from Arizona State, you could find names like: Reggie Jackson, Barry Bonds, and Dustin Pedroai.
Which is part of another complex issue. How do you measure an alumni who actually peaks after their college career? Brandon Belt seems like one of those. He's as good in the MLB as he was in Austin.
Consider 2002's championship team and Dustin Majewski.
Majewski was a college version of Shoeless Joe Jackson. A terrific and gifted hitter from Brenham, Texas. He still owns the best career batting average in UT history at .395 (2002-2003).
Majewski helped Texas win a lot of games. Many fans will never forget him for those two seasons. That said, despite being drafted by the Oakland A's in the 3rd round in 2003, he never made it to the Major Leagues.
Every MLB roster is filled with 12 or 13 pitchers. Meanwhile, teams carry one short stop, one third baseman, and so on. Four hundred pitchers are on MLB rosters tonight. Only 30 "second basemen" are listed on those same 30 MLB rosters.
But the truth is, Majewski was one of the best Longhorn hitters ever. Fact.
He still holds the highest single season batting average in Longhorn history (.429). Cisarik was a machine in 1987. Despite that, he never played above Double-A.
Bill Bates? A legendary player in 1980's Austin. He played 29 games in the Majors. And yet, Bates still holds the UT career record for most triples (20). Mark Payton is close at 19.
Bottom line, Mark Payton is now on this greatest list.
Unlike most, Payton used the BBCOR bat (which is like kryptonite to offensive statistics). It would have been nice to see his performance with a more lethal aluminum bat. But, that's another part of this question's complexity. How do you weigh BBCOR's impact on great college hitters?
Despite all that? Payton has a career batting average of .319 and his career on-base percentage is an amazing .422.
That said, he will never be as famous as Reggie Jackson or Barry Bonds because his body is probably not going to carry him that far. I hope the pro game fits him well, but, either way, for those of us who watched him play in Austin from 2011 to 2014 - we know the truth. He was amazing.
