CLEVELAND, Ohio — Travis Bazzana is a case in point example of the continued growth in popularity of baseball in Australia. Saturday at Progressive Field, he gave the future of the sport in his home country an experience they’ll never forget.
The Guardians second baseman invited some special guests to Cleveland’s game against the Kansas City Royals: The Australian Little League World Series team.
“It was awesome to see the local kids from where I grew up having that much success and having an experience of a lifetime in the U.S. is pretty cool,” Bazzana said in the Guardians clubhouse.
It was also a full circle moment for Bazzana. The Sydney Ryde Hawks were the same team that he had played for growing up when he first developed a love for the game of baseball.
“I just remember the intensity and the long kind of grind for trying to make Williamsport. We were practicing multiple times a week, playing every weekend and preparing for the big tournaments. It was a big deal to us back then,” Bazzana said. “So they'll probably remember this forever.”
“It was crazy. I've always wanted to meet him.” said Freddie Loats, the Ryde Hawks’ left fielder. “It's a dream come true, and him being an alumni of our club, it's pretty crazy.”
For Bazzana, creating moments like that for fellow Aussies is what its all about.
“Yeah, it's a massive part of it. Once I kind of grew into myself and got over to the U.S. I really took to the fact that I have an opportunity to impact people,” Bazzana said. “There's a good baseball community back home, and they're a big part of it. So to have someone they can watch on a daily basis, and also just aspire to do cool things, because this is a pretty cool job. It's great.”
