Travis Bazzana still remembers the moment he was offered a scholarship at Oregon State.
Watch selected NRL, AFL, SSN games plus every F1 qualifying session and race live in 4K on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
In fact, he’ll “never forget it”. He was in the trophy room, surrounded by legendary names of the program like Adley Rutschman, Jacoby Ellsbury, Nick Madrigal and Trevor Larnach, when the coaches suddenly came in and surprised him.
“I’d been on my visit for over 24 hours at that point and it just all hit me,” Bazzana told foxsports.com.au last year.
“I already felt a connection to Oregon State and I really knew deep down that was where I wanted to go.”
That kind of intuition, the gut feeling that this was the place he was supposed to be, isn’t something you can measure or quantify.
But the numbers from Bazzana’s Oregon State career speak for themselves. They speak to a player who bought in from the very start, who saw a pathway to greatness and — with the help of the Beavers coaching staff — was able to realise it.
Bazzana’s Beavers career in numbers (All program records)
Career hits: 251
Home runs: 45
Doubles: 52
Walks: 180
Runs: 220
Stolen bases: 66
Total bases: 460
All of which is to say Bazzana’s standout career at Oregon State bodes well for the Cleveland Guardians, the MLB franchise which took the Australian second baseman with the first overall pick in this year’s draft on a contract worth $8.95 million ($A13.7m).
Not that the Guardians can expect Bazzana to rewrite the record books or replicate the kind of production he had for the Beavers.
But when asked by foxsports.com.au if the feeling he had in his first meeting with Cleveland was the same as the one he had in that trophy room at Oregon State, Bazzana didn’t hesitate.
“100 percent yes,” he said.
“In my own head, I compared it to that. As I was leading up to the draft I met with a lot of teams and I met with teams in high school when I was trying to pick a college and my intuition was just strong about Oregon State. And then the same thing with the Guardians.
“I had a strong, strong feeling that these were the people and this was the way… this was the right place for me.”
The Guardians clearly felt the same way and while it is easy to think that Bazzana would obviously say that given Cleveland had the first overall pick, it was never about that.
Sure, the prestige of being taken with pick No. 1 would be particularly powerful in helping raise the profile of baseball in Australia, something which Bazzana has wanted to do from the moment he committed to Oregon State.
But just as important in doing just that was having a successful career in the majors and Bazzana could see the vision with the Guardians, not that there was a singular thing they said to convince him of that.
“It was just the way they went about it and just the people that were there and how well structured they were and cohesive from the play development to the scouting to the front office to the data and tech people,” Bazzana said.
“They’re just very cohesive. And then you combine that with the fact that they could show their successes on the field this year and in the previous 10 years, like they’ve just been a consistently good team. So I believed in that structure and those people.”
It is easy to forget Bazzana is just 22 years old when you listen to him speak. Just the way he breaks down every little detail of his game or even the way he so effortlessly explained that intuition that told him Cleveland was the “right place” for him, describing it as a “combination of memories, experiences and relationships”.
“As much as people think that’s random… it’s just an instinct of all your previous experiences with people, previous relationships, things that have gone good and bad,” added Bazzana.
“Our brains are small enough to carry those things and your gut tells you what’s the right thing based on previous experiences all built up in your whole life, like these are the kind of people you want to be around, this is going to be the best for you.”
That is Bazzana, the psychology major, talking. But it is also Bazzana, the student of the game, always learning and always evaluating where he went right and wrong.
Although even for someone like Bazzana, who never seems flustered or sped up, there was one moment where the gravity of being the first overall pick really sunk in.
“I’ve watched hours of his swing for years and really looked up to him,” Bazzana said of six-time All-Star José Ramírez, who the Australian first met in July shortly after being drafted by the Guardians.
“… Sometimes when you’re around someone you kind of look up to like that I feel like it could be sort of nerve-racking and you don’t really know what to say, you don’t want to say anything silly, but he is very, very loose and a great sense of humour guy, so immediately he was cracking jokes and challenging me on the field.
“So it was wonderful and he made it very, very loose and a good time just hanging around him and meeting him.”
Being drafted with the No. 1 pick meant plenty more of that for Bazzana. New people, new places, new teammates — for the time being at the Lake County Captains, Cleveland’s High-A Affiliate.
The next step is moving up to Double-A, Triple-A and, potentially, making a Major League debut.
But as much as plenty has changed for Bazzana, some things have also stayed the same — including his relationship with Oregon State coach Mitch Canham.
“He was there when I got the call that I was going to be the number one pick and he’s been there through all this growth,” Bazzana said.
The pair have stayed in touch beyond the draft too, with Canham offering Bazzana advice as he navigates a new world of great expectations and even greater possibilities.
Canham said in an interview with foxsports.com.au last year that Bazzana is “part of the 0.0001 per cent” — and not just as a player.
“You don’t even talk about the sport, just about the human being, that’s the winner right there,” Canham said at the time.
“You can put anything in front of him and that guy’s going to find a way to win.”
Bazzana agreed that his connection with Canham is “definitely more than baseball”.
“I think he’s a true mentor and friend of mine past baseball now,” the second baseman said.
“He’s just done a lot for me and his family is wonderful and he continues to teach me a lot and be someone I can look to. So it’s definitely more than baseball and he’s just been someone to guide me in the right direction.”
Canham spoke glowingly at the time about how Bazzana would talk to kids who were thinking of committing to Oregon State, even if they weren’t going to be there to play when he was still around.
“He wants the program to continue to be successful well after he’s gone,” Canham said.
“That to me just says a lot.”
Whether it is the Ku-ring-gai Stealers, who Bazzana played junior baseball for, the Sydney Blue Sox, who he debuted for in 2018, or the Beavers, where Bazzana put his name on the map — it is all about giving back and never forgetting where he came from or who helped get him here.
“That’s something I’m really, really big on and something I want to continue to do is just give back where I can to people and places that have helped me and can continue to provide opportunity and great experiences for other people,” Bazzana said.
“Oregon State is one of those places that I really cherish and I want to continue to help them create more good baseball players and good people and I know coach Canham is going to do that. So wherever I can give back and help out I’m going to continue to do that.”
Discussion about this post