Travis Bazzana has made Australian sporting history after being selected as the first pick in this year’s Major League Baseball draft.
The hard-hitting left-hander from Sydney is the first Australian player to be selected in the first round of the draft, let alone the first choice.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Sunday night that the Cleveland Guardians have selected the Oregon State University second baseman.
There was little to no doubt that Bazzana, 21, would be drafted in the top five picks.
Baseball Australia chief executive Glenn Williams has known Bazzana since he was a child and said the infielder had huge potential.
“He could be a generational talent,” Williams said.
Travis Bazzana was expected to be the first overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Oregon State.
Bazzana, a former cricket, rugby and soccer player who came to the U.S. to play baseball in college, hit .407 with 28 homers and 66 RBIs this season while leading Oregon State to a super regional as the No. 15 national seed.
The Beavers then lost a three-game series to second-ranked Kentucky.
Bazzana was also recently named the 2024 Pac-12 Player of the Year in May.
This year’s top baseball pick had a slot value of $10,570,600 under the bonus system that began in 2012.
Cleveland had the top pick for the first time since the draft began in 1965, winning a weighted lottery in December despite having a two percent chance.
The lottery began last year as part of a provision in the collective bargaining agreement to discourage struggling teams from deliberately trying to land a high draft pick by getting rid of veterans.
Teams were to make the first 74 picks Sunday at Cowtown Coliseum, with the remainder of the 20 rounds on Monday and Tuesday. Cleveland also picked at Nos. 36 and 48.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred was booed by the roughly 2,000 fans in attendance when he emerged on stage through the hall doors.
But to continue…