Team Australia infielder Travis Bazzana has yet to make his Major League Baseball debut, but he has already made MLB history.
Bazzana became the first Australian-born player to be drafted in the first round when the Cleveland Guardians made him the first overall pick in 2024. Two years later, the top prospect is knocking at MLB’s door.
After finishing last year at Triple-A, where he had an .858 OPS in 26 games before his season was cut short by an oblique injury, Bazzana was a non-roster invite at big-league camp this spring. He’s far from a lock to make the Opening Day roster, but he’s on track to be patrolling second base in Cleveland at some point this year.
Before that happens, though, Bazzana had another debut to make. He helped his home country win its first game at the World Baseball Classic by homering in Australia’s 3-0 win over Chinese Taipei at the Tokyo Dome on Thursday.
Australia’s Travis Bazzana hits homer, extending lead over Chinese Taipei
Two weeks before Bazzana left for Japan, I caught up with the 23-year-old infielder to talk about growing up playing baseball in the suburbs of Sydney, why and how he was drawn to the sport, the food he misses most from back home, the allure of representing Australia in the WBC, his 2026 goals and more.
I know you played cricket and other more popular Australian sports growing up. What drew you to baseball?
My dad played a lot of sports. He played rugby, cricket, baseball primarily, and he was solid at all three. I’m the youngest of three boys, and they were around the field, Dad was around the baseball club, and I just took a lot of attention to it. I would ask my parents to hit tee-ball. I would be the bat boy for my older brothers and run around the field. I loved every second of just being at the baseball field and watching and taking it all in. It never got pushed on me, neither my brothers, but it became my identity early on.
As early as I can remember writing about what I wanted to do, it was like I wanted to be a baseball player, and everyone knew I played baseball. That was just like my thing. I played all the other sports, but baseball is what I took a passion to. If I had a chance to sit down with free time when I was little, I was watching MLB.com highlights.
How hard was it to find people to play baseball with in Australia?
(Photo by Daniel Shirey/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
There are lots of baseball clubs and lots of Little League systems and things in place for grassroots baseball in Australia that made playing consistently fairly easy, but in terms of finding friends that aren’t at the baseball club to play with, like I didn’t play any backyard baseball with friends growing up, really. Maybe when we had, like, my team meet up and do that.
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But when I used to be with my faculty pals, it was rugby or cricket on the park on the weekend once we had free time. At college, recess or no matter, it was cricket, contact rugby, typically basketball, typically soccer, by no means baseball. At my highschool, there have been solely a pair youngsters that performed baseball and never at a excessive degree, actually. By way of discovering folks to play with, it was like I’d be going to the baseball discipline to do this. I wasn’t taking part in wiffle ball, I used to be taking part in yard cricket.
Are you able to describe rising up in Turramurra for many who aren’t acquainted?
It’s a really good northern suburb of Sydney. A number of good parks. A number of good golf equipment for all types of sports activities. Good faculties. It’s an important spot. Let’s simply say the home costs in Turramurra are in all probability booming proper now and have been. They’re insanely excessive, so it’s a great place, and I used to be fortunate to develop up there. However yeah, in the event you walked round Turramurra, you’d in all probability discover some youngsters taking part in rugby and cricket.
When did taking part in professional begin to really feel like an actual risk for you?
I feel once I was like 14 was when it actually began to kick in that I used to be going to get an opportunity to pursue what I had at all times labored for. I used to be 14 once I was taking part in within the 15U nationwide event in Australia, and I felt like I might maintain my very own with a number of the older youngsters, and there was some professional scouting curiosity beginning to come up. In order that was once I was like, OK, I feel I’ll be succesful to a minimum of take some sort of path towards professional baseball, whether or not that was go professional or go to school. I actually began to kick within the planning for that.
Is there a spot or kind of meals you miss essentially the most if you’re not dwelling?
One factor that’s actually cool about Australia is we now have actually good sushi for not a premium. You could find nice sushi spots throughout the place you get, like, actually high quality rolls for $3-5. So you’ve got lunch, get three good sushi rolls for $12, and the standard’s nice, and there’s no points, and it’s constant. Right here, you go to a sushi place, and so they cost you $18 for a roll, and also you’re like, from my perspective, that’s like 5 occasions an excessive amount of. It’s rice with a little bit little bit of fish. The upcharge right here is massive. They make sushi the very boujee factor in America, and it doesn’t should be.
Contemplating this shall be your first time competing for Australia on the WBC, how properly are you aware the opposite guys on the group?
There are solely a few guys on the roster that I grew up form of taking part in with or towards. Nearly all of these guys, it was form of academies, Australian Academy or our state academies again dwelling the place perhaps they’re a few years older than me, however all the very best youth gamers would sort of get collectively.
There are occasions once I was round a few of them then. A lot of the remainder of the gamers have been folks I sort of watched on the boys’s group within the final 10 years once I was developing that I hadn’t spent a lot time round, perhaps performed a recreation or two towards them within the Australian Baseball League once I was younger earlier than I went to school. I positively knew who all of them have been, after which I acquired to play with most of these guys final yr within the Premier12 event. So I sort of know everybody on the group now, however from childhood it was primarily watching a lot of the guys.
How a lot enjoyable was it to observe Australia advance out of the primary spherical for the primary time in 2023? How shortly did you resolve you needed to take part in 2026?
I used to be wishing I might have been on that group. I used to be in school watching, however I used to be in the course of a season and hadn’t actually earned that proper but, however they did an unimaginable job that yr, and other people stepped up in large conditions, and that complete roster actually performed their position and did an important job. It was one thing that was on my thoughts for a very long time, and that sort of cemented, ‘This subsequent event, I’m going to get the possibility,’ and I let everybody know that was what I needed to do, and now it’s virtually right here.
I do know you handled a few indirect accidents final yr. When did you begin to really feel proper once more, and what’s your objective for 2026?
Travis Bazanna is the primary Australian participant to ever be drafted within the first spherical. (Photograph by Jill Weisleder/MLB Images through Getty Pictures)
The final indirect difficulty occurred just like the second to final week of the season in Columbus, so I went dwelling proper after the season and was doing rehab work however nothing very intense and a variety of simply stress-free with household. As soon as I acquired again from Australia and I used to be completed touring and was capable of ramp again up, I’d say I used to be feeling good. By Nov. 10, I used to be sort of away from that, so obliques have been clear by November, and I had a very sturdy build-up.
Wanting forward, I’m simply making an attempt to profit from camp. Clearly, the large leagues are on the horizon, nevertheless it’s nearly performing and persevering with to get higher and exhibiting the big-league employees what I can do. As soon as it’s there, simply benefit from the recreation, play arduous like I’ve, and every part ought to care for itself.
Are you able to see the chance forward?
Yeah, 100%. I’m in big-league camp and get to take reps with guys which have been there, performed that, day by day. I really feel prefer it’s proper across the nook. I’ve simply acquired to do what I can, and if alternative arises, simply take it with each palms.
Was it a tough alternative to depart camp understanding how shut you’re to the large leagues?
It’s one thing I thought of, nevertheless it was by no means going to shy me away from going and doing [the WBC]. On the finish of the day, if I used to be going someplace that was a cool occasion to not play baseball, it will make sense. However I’m going to play on one of many greatest levels on the earth. In my view, it competes with playoff baseball in MLB. I feel if I’m bodily ready, there’s virtually not a greater option to get good recreation reps in an necessary setting to organize for a season. So there’s clearly a group facet that I’ll be lacking right here for like 12 days, perhaps 10 days, and hopefully extra if we go to Miami. However on the finish of the day, if I’m taking part in towards a number of the finest gamers on the earth, in entrance of 60,000 or 50,000 within the Tokyo Dome, no matter it’s, I feel it’s a optimistic it doesn’t matter what. Hopefully, I can profit from that and are available again.
