Sebastian Tan
The remarkable rise and rise of Australia’s Travis Bazzana has continued, with the 23-year-old earning a maiden call-up for Major League Baseball’s All-Star game.
Bazzana made history when he joined the Cleveland Guardians as the No.1 pick in the 2024 MLB draft, marking the first time an Australian had ever been drafted in the first round.
The NSW product made his MLB debut on April 28 this year and has already produced some eye-catching form, resulting in a call-up for the Mid-Summer Classic in Philadelphia on July 14 (July 15 AEST).
Bazzana becomes just the fourth Australian to receive an All-Star nod, following in the footsteps of Dave Nilsson (1999), Grant Balfour (2013) and Liam Hendriks (2019, 2021, 2022).
The infielder has been selected in the American league’s squad as a player-elected reserve.
“It puts perspective on things,” Bazzana said.
“I do set high expectations for myself. I’m going to continue to work. I think there’s a lot left that I can bring to the team on the field moving forward.
“Obviously, a good perspective to give to myself when I sometimes don’t give myself grace.
“Hopefully, we continue to have more All-Stars and more players that believe they can go and do really amazing things in MLB.”
Bazzana and teammate Parker Messick have notably been picked while rookies, a feat that has only been achieved at the Guardians by three previous players in franchise history.
It is just the fifth occasion that one MLB club has supplied multiple rookies in an All-Star game, with the most recent instance being the New York Yankees in 2014.
Bazzana has been instrumental in helping the Guardians push for a third consecutive post-season berth, becoming a regular at the top of Cleveland’s line-up.
Across 58 games, the Australian has whacked seven home runs, 12 doubles and 27 runs batted in (RBIs), with a batting average of .250 and an OBP (on-base percentage) of .341.
Those numbers helped Bazzana receive All-Star selection through player balloting, a system where the competition’s players, managers and coaches vote to select the remaining pitchers and back-up players for the All-Star clash.
AAP
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