.6 years ago, throughout an Eco-friendly Shield cricket match in Sydney's interior west, a skinny adolescent coming from the northern seasides was actually bombing 6s onto the hill at Drummoyne Oval.Representing Northern Area in the condition's premier under-16 competitors, the left-hander slugged 34 (31) during the training last against Sydney Cricket Club to help chase after the 208-run aim at with a few rounds to spare.That growing cricketer was Travis Bazzana, that today came to be the first Australian to become selected in the opening around of the Major League Baseball Draft.On Monday morning, the Oregon State second baseman was actually purchased by the Cleveland Guardians as the No. 1 total pick along with a prospective signing reward of up to AU$ 15.5 thousand, although the exact figure is actually as yet to be confirmed.But just before plunging into a rewarding baseball job, Bazzana was an accomplished cricket natural born player assembling hundreds at college, nightclub and representative level.Cricket train Josh Miller, who has actually mentored the Northern District Green Cover side for almost a decade, still bears in mind Bazzana's Drummoyne strike." It was an extraordinary innings," Miller told Fox Cricket recently." You don't actually see things like that in Environment-friendly Guard cricket." See every round of the England v West Indies Test collection LIVE & exclusive to Fox Cricket, accessible on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your cost-free trial today > Aussie produces MLB background, general no. 1!|00:26 Miller, the Director of Cricket at Barker College as well as the Junior Path Supervisor at Northern Area, coached Bazzana for 2 times between 2016 and also 2018 just before the sporting professional dedicated to baseball." He was actually a very, good batter and also an extremely gifted ball-striker," Miller carried on." Definitely certainly not a slogger whatsoever, however he took the activity on. He can rack up throughout the ground." The important things that stood out with him was actually possibly his athleticism. He obviously possessed a cannon throw, as fellas that play baseball carry out, but simply the means he moved in the field, you understood he was actually a special athlete." Bazzana, who likewise played baseball, rugby and football during the course of his youth, led Turramurra High School towards its first Alan Davidson Shield title before participating in third-grade cricket amongst grownups at Roseville Area CC, ending up being the club's youngest centurion.He was decided on for the Green Shield side in 2016, playing together with potential Sydney Thunder gamer Toby Gray as well as Australian under-19 representative Corey Miller.But his true calling was actually baseball-- prior to cricket matches, Bazzana would warm up through practising his baseball swings." He was a helpful cricketer, it's often covered whether he could have been a cricketer or not," Bazzana's father brown Gary said to CODE Sports." Yet he was actually always even more enthusiastic concerning baseball." Oregon Condition's Travis Bazzana. Photo by Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire through Getty ImagesSource: Getty ImagesApart coming from his raw skill and also abnormal athleticism, Bazzana's competitiveness and also expertise were instantly obvious to Miller. He might certainly not have been actually the absolute most talented cricketer in the Northern Area squad, but he functioned harder than any one of his colleagues." Travis' dedication was second to none. I've certainly not seen a younger sportsperson as steered," Miller stated." The hard work, the disk, that was actually all incredibly obvious to view." He succeeded when the video game was tough as well as when he possessed an actually very clear purpose to become going for. That constantly keeps you in decent place as a professional athlete, if you possess that affordable streak when you're under pressure." Although handling the two summer season sporting activities was draining for the university trainee, along with cricket and also baseball eating his entire weekend, Bazzana took advantage of the skill-sets he acquired in both sports. In 2014, he said to MLB Pipeline that cricket's focus on consistent get in touch with helped create his bat-to-ball skills.Since transferring to the United States in 2021, Bazzana has gotten praise for his layer specialty, knowing which tosses to turn at or lay off. His hand-eye sychronisation and decision-making at the plate can, a minimum of to some extent, be actually attributed to his opportunity as a cricketer." The way he hit the ball as well as the swing of the baseball bat was actually elite," Miller explained." It was actually rather apparent exactly how well his baseball edge transferred throughout." Oregon State's Travis Bazzana.Source: Headlines Corporation AustraliaIn a gliding doors instant, Bazzana picked to prioritise baseball in 2018, making his launching for the Sydney Blue Sox later that year and also embodying Australia at the 2019 Under-18 World Cup.Needless to say, it ended up being the ideal call, however baseball's gain was cricket's reduction." His functionality entering Environment-friendly Shield screamed that he was going to be a superior cricketer," Miller proceeded." Just because of his commitment and also the amount of effort and time and also willpower he needed to what he was doing, I think he could possibly have discovered a technique to become a fair cricketer." He didn't possess the best year in Veggie Cover ... my guess is actually baseball was the right alternative." Those fellas, they often tend to discover a means to succeed in whatever they perform, only with that determination and self-control." However, talking to The Book of Joe podcast earlier this year, Bazzana admitted he periodically skips the sensation of natural leather on willow." A lot of my best buddies were actually participating in cricket and I was actually having fun with them as well as enjoying it carefully, however I was always investing the added benefit baseball," Bazzana claimed." I will be attacking baseballs before I visited go play my cricket video game." I had a good time participating in cricket and performed skip the sporting activity after I completely committed to baseball at sixteen.".