Travis Bazzana happily concedes that the soundtrack to his debut Major League Baseball at-bat was a cliche.
Following the advice of his parents Gary and Jenny, the first Australian to be taken with the No.1 pick in the MLB draft had the Men At Work hit "Down Under" blaring as he walked to the plate for the Cleveland Guardians.
The second base hit none for two with two walks on Wednesday (AEST) in his major league debut as the Guardians lost 1-0 at home to the Tampa Bay Rays.
"I would always be like, ‘people know I’m Australian. Why would I do that?’," Bazzana said of the song choice for his maiden MLB at-bat.
"I just had this inkling the last couple of months that I felt like that would be special to start my career.
"Just like, that’s my favourite kind of iconic Australian song and it’s cliche, but I think it’s a good start,” he said.
Bazzana's parents were in the crowd, having arrived on Monday after already deciding to pay their son a visit.
The day before, the 23-year-old had been told he would be called up, after playing in a double header for Cleveland's Triple-A affiliate team Columbus in the New York State city of Buffalo.
It was made official on Tuesday, when Juan Brito was optioned to Columbus and Bazzana took his place on the Guardians roster.
"My mum was smiling and crying at the same time. Very excited, very emotional, and my dad was shocked and just very excited," Bazzana said during a pre-game media conference.
The Guardians recruited Bazzana with the top pick in the 2024 amateur draft.
He is the 39th Australian to play in the major leagues and the 14th from the July, 2024 draft class to reach the "bigs".
Bazzana's nerves dissipated as soon as had that first at-bat and fielded his first ground ball.
"You have this kind of antsy and high heart rate feeling," the Sydney native said of his debut.
"But after that (getting up to the plate and fielding a ground ball) it felt like a normal baseball game and felt locked in."
Bazzana is the top prospect in the Guardians’ organisation. He batted .287 with two home runs, 10 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 24 games for Columbus. He reached base safely in his last 13 games.
The Australian joined a Guardians squad that had dropped four straight and six of their last eight.
"I think with the way he was swinging the bat in Triple-A and with the need on the team, we kind of need a little jolt. But at the same time, it was the right timing," manager Stephen Vogt said.
"This is a hitter with power, can hit the ball to all fields, great base runner and can play some second base."
Bazzana's path to the majors hit a bump last season when he missed two months because of an oblique strain.
He showed his potential earlier this year in the World Baseball Classic, when he had two hits and a home run for Australia in its 3-0 win over Taiwan.
His debut was broadcast on pay TV in Australia and the Pacific Rim.
"Our game’s really growing globally and just the opportunities that people have from all over the world to come play this beautiful game," Vogt said.
"It’s a wonderful thing that the game is growing and happy for Travis and happy for Australia."
- with AP
