Travis Bazzana has made Australian sporting history after being selected first overall in this year’s Major League Baseball draft.
The left-handed pitcher from Sydney is the first Australian player to be selected in the first round of the draft, and is therefore the first pick.
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Sunday night that the Cleveland Guardians selected the second baseman from Oregon State. Bazzana now becomes the first second baseman ever selected with the No. 1 overall pick.
He set an Oregon State single-season record by scoring 84 runs and posting a .911 batting average. Bazzana also stole 16 bases and had a .568 hitting percentage, making him a consensus All-America first-team pick.
There was little to no doubt that the 21-year-old Bazzana would be picked in the top five.
Travis Bazzana was tabbed as the first overall pick of the 2024 MLB Draft out of Oregon State
The second baseman was not at the Draft because a viewing party was organized for him in Sydney
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced the first round overall pick in Fort Worth, Texas
Baseball Australia chief executive Glenn Williams has known Bazzana since he was a child and said the infielder has huge potential.
“He could be a generational talent,” Williams said.
Bazzana, a former cricket, rugby and soccer player, came to the U.S. to play college baseball. This season, he hit .407 with 28 home runs and 66 RBIs, leading Oregon State to a super-regional ranking as the No. 15 national team.
The Beavers then lost a three-game series at second-seeded Kentucky.
Bazzana was also named the 2024 Pac-12 Player of the Year in May.
This year’s top favorite baseball team had a closing value of $10,570,600 under the bonus pool system introduced in 2012.
Bazzana, 21, played football, rugby and cricket before trying baseball as a child
In May, he was named Pac-12 Player of the Year and is a first-team All-American at large
Cleveland had the first overall pick for the first time since the draft began in 1965. In December, they won a weighted lottery despite a two percent chance.
The lottery began last year as part of a provision in the collective bargaining agreement to discourage struggling teams from intentionally trying to land a top pick by cutting veterans.
Teams were to make the first 74 picks on Sunday at Cowtown Coliseum, with the remainder of the 20 rounds on Monday and Tuesday. Cleveland also selected the 36th and 48th picks.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred was booed by the approximately 2,000 fans in attendance as he entered the venue through the doors and onto the stage.
