.6 years ago, throughout a Veggie Guard cricket suit in Sydney's interior west, a thin teenager from the northerly seasides was bombing sixes onto the hill at Drummoyne Oval.Representing Northern District in the condition's premier under-16 competitors, the left-hander slugged 34 (31) throughout the qualifying last versus Sydney Cricket Club to aid chase after the 208-run target with a couple of balls to spare.That growing cricketer was Travis Bazzana, that this week became the first Australian to be picked in the position sphere of the Major League Baseball Draft.On Monday morning, the Oregon State second baseman was actually gotten due to the Cleveland Guardians as the No. 1 overall selection along with a potential finalizing benefit of around AU$ 15.5 thousand, although the specific number is yet to become confirmed.But prior to starting a financially rewarding baseball occupation, Bazzana was actually a talented cricket prodigy compiling hundreds at university, nightclub as well as depictive level.Cricket instructor Josh Miller, who has actually mentored the Northern Area Veggie Guard side for virtually a decade, still don't forgets Bazzana's Drummoyne blitz." It was an astounding innings," Miller told Fox Cricket this week." You do not definitely view things like that in Veggie Shield cricket." Check out every round of the England v West Indies Examination series LIVE & exclusive to Fox Cricket, available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Begin your complimentary test today > Aussie makes MLB past history, overall no. 1!|00:26 Miller, the Director of Cricket at Barker College and the Junior Process Supervisor at Northern District, trained Bazzana for pair of seasons between 2016 as well as 2018 just before the sporting professional dedicated to baseball." He was actually a really, good batter and an extremely talented ball-striker," Miller proceeded." Surely certainly not a slogger by any means, but he took the activity on. He could score all over the ground." The thing that stood out along with him was most likely his athleticism. He definitely possessed a cannon toss, as people that participate in baseball perform, yet simply the way he relocated the industry, you knew he was an exclusive professional athlete." Bazzana, that likewise played baseball, rugby and also soccer during the course of his youth, led Turramurra High School towards its own first Alan Davidson Cover headline just before playing third-grade cricket one of adults at Roseville Area CC, ending up being the nightclub's youngest centurion.He was actually picked for the Eco-friendly Guard side in 2016, playing together with future Sydney Thunder gamer Toby Gray and Australian under-19 representative Corey Miller.But his true calls was baseball-- prior to cricket suits, Bazzana will warm up through practicing his baseball swings." He was actually a handy cricketer, it is actually usually covered whether he can possess been actually a cricketer or otherwise," Bazzana's father Gary told CODE Sports." Yet he was actually consistently extra zealous regarding baseball." Oregon State's Travis Bazzana. Photo through Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire by means of Getty ImagesSource: Getty ImagesApart from his raw skill and abnormal athleticism, Bazzana's competitiveness as well as reliability were immediately evident to Miller. He might certainly not have been one of the most accomplished cricketer in the Northern District squad, but he worked tougher than some of his allies." Travis' dedication was actually incomparable. I have actually certainly not found a younger sportsman as steered," Miller pointed out." The effort, the drive, that was all extremely evident to view." He excelled when the video game was difficult and also when he had a definitely crystal clear objective to be going for. That constantly keeps you in respectable standing as an athlete, if you possess that competitive streak when you are actually struggling." Although managing both summer months sports was actually taxing for the college trainee, along with cricket and also baseball eating his whole weekend, Bazzana profited from the capabilities he achieved in both sporting activities. In 2014, he told MLB Pipe that cricket's focus on steady get in touch with aided establish his bat-to-ball skills.Since relocating to the USA in 2021, Bazzana has actually gotten approval for his layer discipline, knowing which tosses to open at or lay off. His hand-eye sychronisation as well as decision-making at home plate can, at the very least partly, be credited to his opportunity as a cricketer." The technique he struck the sphere as well as the swing of the baseball bat was actually elite," Miller clarified." It was actually quite obvious how properly his baseball edge transmitted across." Oregon Condition's Travis Bazzana.Source: Updates Corporation AustraliaIn a gliding doors moment, Bazzana opted for to prioritise baseball in 2018, making his launching for the Sydney Blue Sox later that year as well as representing Australia at the 2019 Under-18 Planet Cup.Needless to say, it became the right phone call, but baseball's gain was cricket's loss." His functionality entering into Environment-friendly Cover shouted that he was mosting likely to be an exceptional cricketer," Miller carried on." Just because of his commitment as well as just how much effort and time and also style he needed to what he was carrying out, I assume he might have located a method to be a pretty good cricketer." He really did not possess the very best year in Environment-friendly Guard ... my guess is actually baseball was actually the right alternative." Those guys, they usually tend to find a means to succeed in whatever they carry out, just by means of that discipline as well as style." Nevertheless, speaking with The Book of Joe podcast earlier this year, Bazzana confessed he periodically misses out on the sensation of natural leather on willow." A bunch of my friends were playing cricket and also I was actually having fun with all of them and appreciating it carefully, however I was regularly placing in the added work for baseball," Bazzana stated." I 'd be hitting baseballs just before I visited go play my cricket video game." I possessed a fun time participating in cricket and performed miss the sporting activity after I totally committed to baseball at sixteen.".