![\"Jon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792070679_243_b41a40c453ab3b0ce85a012a2f2e71470a51efea.png\")
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October 15, 2026 \u2014 11:30am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n No gift articles left<\/p>\n You’ve used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.<\/p>\n Close<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Travis Bazzana, the first Australian to be taken with the No.1 pick<\/a> in the Major League Baseball draft, has quickly become a favourite of the Cleveland Guardians since debuting in April.<\/p>\n \u201cMake that beloved,\u201d said one long-time Cleveland-based Indians supporter who has strong connections to franchise ownership.<\/p>\n From walking out to bat to Men at Work\u2019s iconic Australian hit Down Under, which had the local crowd in raptures, to remarkably becoming an All-Star as a rookie<\/a> through his power hitting, and clever work as second baseman, the Turramurra, NSW-raised product has emerged as must-watch viewing.<\/p>\n And that box office appeal has only grown through the MLB play-offs, with Bazzana, 24, having a major impact as the Guardians pursue a berth in the World Series. They are locked at 1-1 with the Tampa Bay Rays in the best-of-seven, American League championship series, with game three early on Friday (4am AEDT).<\/p>\n Just as September is the month to make a splash if you are an AFL or NRL player, October is the month of the MLB season. And Bazzana has flourished, a clutch run-batted-in double helping to keep the Guardians\u2019 play-off dream alive in game four against the Chicago White Sox earlier this month.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s an animal,\u201d Guardians pitcher Parker Messick told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.<\/p>\n \u201cHe loves the game of baseball. He takes it very seriously every at-bat. Every time he\u2019s on first base, every play in the infield, he\u2019s locked in.\u201d<\/p>\n Bazzana, only the seventh Australian to feature in an MLB post-season, has embraced the October spotlight, but says he is still honing that \u201canchor\u201d which delivers consistent success.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cI\u2019m still working through that and trying to become more consistent,\u201d Bazzana said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like: \u2018What are the things that you do well and what are the things the team does well?\u2019 When it starts to trend downhill, how can you flip back into those things and feel confident and calm when you go out there to then execute what you\u2019ve worked on your whole life?\u201d<\/p>\n And it\u2019s been virtually his whole life that Bazzana has been preparing for this moment.<\/p>\n He began playing T-ball for the Ku-Ring-Gai Stealers, the then three-year-old keen to join his brothers on the field.<\/p>\n Meticulous in his attention to detail, whether that be in how he packed his bag, or the time spent analysing footage of the world\u2019s best players<\/a>, Bazzana progressed from the Stealers to Sydney Blue Sox in the Australian Baseball League. Then came a major break in 2021 when he was recruited by one of US college\u2019s elite baseball programs, Oregon State University.<\/p>\n In three seasons, he claimed the college\u2019s records for hits (251), home runs (45), doubles (52), stolen bases (66), total bases (460) and walks (180). A two-time All-America first team selection, the Guardians took him with the first pick of the 2024 MLB draft.<\/p>\n Bazzana bided his time in the minor leagues with the Guardians\u2019 affiliates, the Akron RubberDucks in Double-A baseball before he was elevated to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, his call-up to the big league coming this year on April 28.<\/p>\n He quickly became a crucial cog, earning All-Star selection in July. His five home runs during a 10-game stretch in September helped the Guardians win seven games, and emerge as a power in the American League Central Division.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t let anyone set limits on what your belief is or what you think you can do,\u201d Bazzana told the Akron Beacon Journal.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that was a big thing that helped [at] 14, 15, as I started growing up, I really thought I could do whatever I set my mind to, and I wasn\u2019t letting people taper those expectations or those goals. And I think that\u2019s massive.\u201d<\/p>\n Bazzana also represented Australia this year<\/a> at the World Baseball Classic, his magic moment coming when he blasted a 380-foot home run off Chinese Taipei in Australia\u2019s 3-0 win in Tokyo.<\/p>\n His work on base has also been outstanding, his hard work noted by Justin Lada, co-host of the Locked On Guardians podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cTravis Bazzana has really improved his throwing throughout the year,\u201d Lada wrote on X.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cI am not surprised. Not sure where he ends up defensively but I figured he\u2019d put in the meaningful work to improve and I\u2019d say he clearly has.\u201d<\/p>\n The exclusive list of Australian-born players to feature in the MLB post-season reads as pitchers Grant Balfour, Graeme Lloyd, three-time All Star Liam Hendriks<\/a>, Peter Moylan, Damian Moss and Josh Hendrickson. Bazzana and Boston Red Sox first baseman Curtis Mead are the only position players to do so.<\/p>\n Only Lloyd has won the World Series, as a relief pitcher with the Joe Torre-managed New York Yankees in 1996 and 1998. Don\u2019t rule out Bazzana\u2019s remarkable year netting yet another stunning achievement.<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n No gift articles left<\/p>\n You’ve used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.<\/p>\n Close![\"Making](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/5e27d8d265e37e080e37b07ee6e598f0fd0b644f.jpeg\")
Making a splash: Cleveland Guardians\u2019 Travis Bazzana is congratulated in the dugout. The Australian has quickly become a favourite of Guardian supporters.AP<\/p>\n![\"Australian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/e46b5fa90818deaa2fc0f6a888bc7cf10f3ee34d.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Arm\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/2fd396da767b96d7a311efd155632fe952483918.jpeg\")
Arm\u2019s length: Guardians star Travis Bazzana could become only the second Australian to win a World Series.AP<\/p>\n![\"Travis](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/9ac6dbae6590444096e6de8b070ee995667ae63b.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Jon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792070684_791_b41a40c453ab3b0ce85a012a2f2e71470a51efea.png\")
Jon Pierik<\/a> is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"October 15, 2026 \u2014 11:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":929086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558],"tags":[64,63,591,85],"class_list":["post-929085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=929085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/929086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=929085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=929085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=929085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}