CORVALLIS — After MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred called his name, after he was mobbed by family and friends, after he conducted a live interview on ESPN, Travis Bazzana strolled down three flights of stairs alongside Oregon State coach Mitch Canham at Goss Stadium.
The Cleveland Guardians had just selected Bazzana with the No. 1 pick of the 2024 MLB draft, and as the pair made their way down a back staircase to meet with reporters, Bazzana had an unexpected question for his former coach.
“Did you ever think this would happen?’’ he asked Canham.
“Ever since the day we met you,” Canham answered.
Bazzana polished off a record-setting three-year Oregon State career in historic fashion on Sunday, becoming the first Australian-born player, first second baseman and second Beavers player to go No. 1 in an MLB draft. Adley Rutschman, a two-time All-Star and OSU alum, also was selected with the top pick by the Baltimore Orioles in 2019.
Bazzana, a junior from Sydney, Australia, was the odds-on favorite to go No. 1 heading into Sunday, but it was not a foregone conclusion in a draft that also featured Wake Forest’s Chase Burns and Nick Kurtz, Georgia’s Charlie Condon, Florida’s Jac Caglianone, Arkansas left-hander Hagen Smith and West Virginia’s JJ Wetherholt.
But about 15 minutes before Manfred announced Bazzana’s name on a stage at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, Cleveland’s front office called Bazzana to let him know the Guardians would be using the first No. 1 pick in franchise history on him. And when they did, the Omaha Room at Goss Stadium — where Bazzana watched the draft alongside family, friends teammates and coaches — erupted in a thunderous roar that could be heard three floors below.
He shared a hug with his mother and his father, then was swarmed by everyone else at the party.
“The moment was kind of crazy,” Bazzana said. “As soon as it, like, hit, it was like something exploded. Everyone kind of jumped up around me. And I was just sitting there like, ‘Alright, guys, come on, like, bring it in.’ It’s just one of those moments — such a crazy moment — that you can’t really put into words because it would kind of understate it. It was amazing.”
It was also a fitting end to a career that will be remembered as the finest and most prolific in the storied history of Oregon State baseball. Bazzana arrived in Corvallis with hype and hope after earning West Coast League MVP honors in the summer of 2021, and immediately backed up the hoopla, earning Freshman All-American honors on a loaded OSU team that reached the super regionals of the NCAA baseball tournament in 2022.
He went on to shatter several longstanding Oregon State records during a distinguished three-year career in which he became the sixth unanimous First-Team All-American in program history, won Pac-12 Player of the Year honors and was named a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award. Bazzana hit .360 in his career and left as the Beavers’ all-time leader in hits (251), runs scored (220), home runs (45), doubles (52), walks (180), stolen bases (66) and slugging percentage (.660). He also owns single-season records in home runs, runs scored, stolen bases and total bases.
His best season was his last, when Bazzana hit .407, with 28 home runs, 16 doubles, 66 RBIs and 84 runs scored, while recording a .911 slugging percentage and .568 on-base percentage.
Throughout it all, Bazzana earned universal admiration from teammates and coaches for his next-level work ethic, intelligence, leadership and quest to be the best.
But it was the intangibles, Canham said, the way he carried himself off the field, the way he represented Oregon State, the way he nurtured younger teammates, that prompted the Guardians to bank on Bazzana.
It was a nightly vision at Goss Stadium to see Bazzana stay well after the final pitch to sign autographs for kids and fans. He was so dedicated in the classroom that he was named to the Academic All-America First-Team last season by the College Sports Communicators. And he was known to hop in an Uber and pay his own way to watch the kids of OSU coaches play in little league games.
It’s no wonder that Canham’s son, Mack, sprinted up to Bazzana in the Omaha Room Sunday with an emotional request: “‘Don’t leave,” he told Bazzana. “We don’t want you to leave. We love you here.”
“His work ethic, his passion, his ability to be one of the most special guys in the clubhouse at all times,” said Canham, a former minor league manager, when asked why Bazzana would succeed in professional baseball. “I already know that people are going to go to him for advice, on the field and off the field. I know that he’s going to make great relationships at each affiliate he’s with. Never a worry about him in the clubhouse. If anything, that’s one of the things I know we’re all going to miss — his energy and how he uplifts others and holds others accountable. That determination is real.
“You see guys (in the minors) that just kind of show up on time. But I know he’s going to show up early. He’s going to work. He’s going to continue to be a student of the game, want to learn any and everything regardless of what position he plays. I know it’s never going to change. He wants to win, he wants to be the best and he wants to be the best at helping others around him, too. And that’s where I know, like, how genuine he is. That kind of makeup in those clubhouses is going to help him be the best.”
Travis Bazzana (front center), his mother Jenny (left) and father Gary (right) celebrate with friends and family after the Oregon State junior second baseman is selected by the Cleveland Guardians with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 MLB draft.Karl Maasdam/Oregon State
Bazzana is the 14th player from Oregon State to be selected in the first round of the draft, joining a distinguished group that includes Rutschman, Jacoby Ellsbury, Michael Conforto, Trevor Larnach, Nick Madrigal and Steve Lyons. But unlike those former OSU greats, Bazzana is playing for Australia.
He has long said part of his pursuit of greatness is to inspire future Australian baseball players and help grow the sport Down Under, where cricket, rugby, golf and tennis are far more popular.
Bazzana isn’t just the first Aussie drafted with the No. 1 pick — he’s the first to be selected in the first two rounds.
“I’ve always preached to (Australian) kids, since I was 16, since I started setting my mind on doing this, don’t set limits on yourself,” Bazzana said. “Just see how far you can take it and continue to progress and enjoy the journey and get better each day. Being the No. 1 pick, it tells that story. You can’t go higher than that. Don’t set any limit. I didn’t set my limit … and so I think it sets the precedent of like believing yourself. Figure out how to go be great if you want to be great at baseball.
“I have something I’m playing for. I have a passion. I’m playing for something big. I care about this game — I love this game — and (the Guardians) know that there’s not going to be quit in me and there’s not going to be complacency. They’re going to get someone striving to win and striving to win a World Series.”
Bazzana said early conversations with the Cleveland front office suggest that the organization plans on keeping him at second base, at least at the onset of his professional career, but also values his “athleticism” and “versatility” to perhaps shift to another position in the future. And his Big League future could come relatively quickly.
Bazzana was widely viewed as the most polished hitter in college baseball and, perhaps, the prospect best positioned to be fast-tracked to the Major Leagues. At the very least, he’s joining an organization in the middle of a renaissance, that owns the best record in the American League (58-37) and boasts a former Beavers star — left fielder Steven Kwan — in the starting lineup.
“He’s determined to continue on,” Canham said. “You can already tell he’s thinking about winning a World Series and becoming a Hall of Famer. He wants all those things. It’s inspiring. It’s inspiring for everyone here in the Beaver family, but it’s inspiring for everyone across the country and around the world. I’m so excited to see Travis change the world.”
— Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Subscribe to The Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories