.6 years back, during the course of a Veggie Defense cricket match in Sydney's inner west, a thin teen coming from the northerly coastlines was bombing 6s onto capital at Drummoyne Oval.Representing Northern District in the condition's premier under-16 competition, the left-hander slugged 34 (31) during the course of the training final versus Sydney Cricket Nightclub to help go after the 208-run target along with a few rounds to spare.That budding cricketer was actually Travis Bazzana, who recently ended up being the very first Australian to be decided on in the opening sphere of the Big league Baseball Draft.On Monday early morning, the Oregon State second baseman was actually snapped up by the Cleveland Guardians as the No. 1 general selection along with a prospective finalizing bonus of around AU$ 15.5 thousand, although the exact figure is yet to be confirmed.But just before plunging into a highly profitable baseball job, Bazzana was a gifted cricket natural born player compiling hundreds at university, club and also depictive level.Cricket instructor Josh Miller, that has actually mentored the Northern Area Environment-friendly Guard edge for virtually a decade, still keeps in mind Bazzana's Drummoyne assault." It was an extraordinary innings," Miller told Fox Cricket this week." You do not actually see stuff like that in Green Guard cricket." Check out every sphere of the England v West Indies Exam collection LIVE & exclusive to Fox Cricket, readily available on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start your free trial today > Aussie makes MLB background, general no. 1!|00:26 Miller, the Supervisor of Cricket at Barker University and also the Junior Pathway Supervisor at Northern District, coached Bazzana for two seasons in between 2016 and 2018 prior to the sporting professional devoted to baseball." He was a quite, very good concoction and also an extremely accomplished ball-striker," Miller proceeded." Certainly not a slogger whatsoever, but he took the video game on. He might rack up around the ground." The many things that stood apart along with him was actually probably his athleticism. He definitely had a cannon throw, as people that play baseball perform, yet just the way he moved in the field, you knew he was actually an unique athlete." Bazzana, that likewise played baseball, rugby as well as football in the course of his youth, led Turramurra Senior high school in the direction of its own first Alan Davidson Shield headline just before participating in third-grade cricket amongst grownups at Roseville District CC, coming to be the nightclub's youngest centurion.He was actually decided on for the Green Guard edge in 2016, playing together with potential Sydney Thunder gamer Toby Gray as well as Australian under-19 agent Corey Miller.But his real calling was baseball-- just before cricket matches, Bazzana would heat up through practicing his baseball swings." He was a useful cricketer, it's commonly gone over whether he might possess been actually a cricketer or not," Bazzana's father Gary told CODE Sports." Yet he was actually constantly even more passionate regarding baseball." Oregon Condition's Travis Bazzana. Image by Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire through Getty ImagesSource: Getty ImagesApart coming from his uncooked skill-set as well as unnatural athleticism, Bazzana's competition and reliability were immediately evident to Miller. He might not have been actually one of the most talented cricketer in the Northern District squad, however he operated more difficult than any of his allies." Travis' dedication was incomparable. I have actually certainly not viewed a younger athlete as driven," Miller claimed." The effort, the drive, that was all really obvious to see." He succeeded when the activity was difficult and also when he had an actually clear objective to be pursuing. That always keeps you in pretty good standing as an athlete, if you have that competitive touch when you're struggling." Although handling the two summer months sporting activities was actually tiring for the institution trainee, with cricket and also baseball eating his whole weekend, Bazzana benefited from the capabilities he acquired in both sports. In 2015, he told MLB Pipeline that cricket's importance on constant contact helped build his bat-to-ball skills.Since relocating to the USA in 2021, Bazzana has actually received praise for his layer discipline, knowing which tosses to swing at or resist. His hand-eye balance as well as decision-making at home plate can, at the very least partly, be actually credited to his opportunity as a cricketer." The method he hit the round as well as the swing of the bat was actually best," Miller clarified." It was pretty obvious just how effectively his baseball side transmitted throughout." Oregon Condition's Travis Bazzana.Source: News Corporation AustraliaIn a gliding doors moment, Bazzana chose to prioritise baseball in 2018, creating his launching for the Sydney Blue Sox later that year as well as standing for Australia at the 2019 Under-18 Globe Cup.Needless to say, it turned out to be the right phone call, but baseball's gain was cricket's loss." His functionality entering into Veggie Guard howled that he was mosting likely to be actually a superior cricketer," Miller continued." Just because of his dedication as well as the amount of effort and time and also technique he must what he was doing, I think he could possibly have found a way to become a respectable cricketer." He failed to have the most effective year in Eco-friendly Shield ... my estimate is actually baseball was the right choice." Those guys, they tend to discover a means to be successful in whatever they carry out, merely via that self-discipline and also willpower." Having said that, speaking to The Book of Joe podcast previously this year, Bazzana admitted he from time to time overlooks the sensation of leather-made on willow." A bunch of my buddies were actually participating in cricket and also I was playing with them as well as appreciating it carefully, however I was always placing in the added work with baseball," Bazzana said." I would certainly be reaching baseballs before I visited go play my cricket activity." I possessed a great time participating in cricket and also performed miss the sporting activity after I totally devoted to baseball at sixteen.".