Did Travis Bazzana play cricket? All we know about Oregon State star's alternate career
Top baseball prospect Travis Bazzana is a few moments away from fulfilling his dream of making it to the MLB, as the annual draft is right around the corner. But there was a moment in Bazzana's sporting career when he wore cricket gear and swung a bat before venturing into baseball.
Yes, the Oregon State second baseman played cricket at Turramurra High in Sydney and was a wicketkeeper/opening batsman. Bazzana started playing club cricket at the age of 10. However, he shifted to baseball at 15, as he was more passionate about it.
"But baseball was just more, I was more passionate about it," Bazzana told ESPN. "If there was extra time for me to put practice into something, it was baseball and I loved it and I'd say I was probably a little better at baseball than I was at cricket. So, it made it a little easier."
Despite his decision to move away from cricket in favor of baseball, Bazzana said playing cricket helped him enhance his batting skills. He is expected to become the first Australian-born player to be drafted in the first round.
Travis Bazzana enhanced his batting skills with the help of Baseball Australia chief Glenn Williams
Now decided to venture into a career in baseball, Travis Bazzana sought help from Baseball Australia chief executive officer Glenn Williams. He underwent hitting lessons, including practicing as a switch-hitter before shifting to batting left-handed.
Bazzana could have tried out free agency at 16 and gone straight to the MLB, but he opted to go to Oregon State to earn a college degree and play baseball. The batter felt he could acquire more valuable experience from spending time in school and playing 60 games each season rather than bouncing around international leagues and hoping for MLB scouts to discover him.
The Australian showed his baseball skills during the 2019 MLB College Showcase, where he received an offer to play and study at a Division I school from Beavers coach Mitch Canham. Before accepting the offer, Bazzana told Canham he'd discuss it with his parents. This gave the Oregon State coach an idea of what kind of individual the young prospect is.
"The fact that he didn't get sped up in that environment that told me right there ... that's our guy. That's why he's so special. Because when the arena is putting pressure on you and trying to speed everything up, you pause and you know what your values are," Canham said.
As the saying goes, the rest is history. Travis Bazzana spent three seasons with Oregon State, where he amazed everyone with his hitting accuracy. In his junior year, the second baseman smacked 28 home runs and hit .407 while only striking out 37 times.
Bazzana is a can't-miss prospect, and if he gets selected in the early rounds, expect a high-character player with a power bat capable of taking a team into the World Series.
Will Travis Bazzana carry his world-class skills to the major league level? Let us know your views in the comments section.