Travis Bazzana of the Cleveland Guardians was a house afire in Chicago for Games 3 and 4 of the stretched-to-the-limit ALDS showdown between his Guards and the White Sox. He'll now head home with his teammates to the corner of Carnegie and Ontario in hopes that his mad dashes around the diamond will continue to bring a spark to the fine people of The Land.
Bazzana, the No. 1 overall pick out of Oregon State in the 2024 MLB Draft, made his debut this year and swiftly ascended to All-Star status. His first half might not have taken the league by storm, but in much the same way his Guardians snuck up on the White Sox in the AL Central, his rookie year picked up steam in Munetaka Murakami's shadow.
Fittingly, 2026 Topps Update included the ascendant Bazzana in the chase insert series Home Field (release date: Oct. 14). The 20-card set is rookie-centric this time around, with RCs from Andrew Painter to Kevin McGonigle to Carter Jensen dotting the itinerary.
Look ... we know these are beautifully designed as crammed-background tributes to a player's home stadium and city. But ... would it have killed them to add a cheeky wrinkle in Bazzana's card and pay tribute to his homeland of Australia? Not asking for much. This is an amazing design. But if we just put a koala poking out the top of Cleveland's tower or some eucalyptus climing up the neck of that guitar ... it would've just been a fun way to give the SSP a little more of Bazzana's flavor.
FIRST LOOK: Travis Bazzana's ultra-rare 'Home Field' trading card in 2026 Topps Update Series Baseball pic.twitter.com/ePF9bp8kSO
— Topps (@Topps) October 10, 2026
Travis Bazzana Home Field insert could've used an Aussie touch in 2026 Topps Update
Bazzana, still just 24 years old and in his freshman season, has already closed to within two appearances of Liam Hendriks for most All-Star nods ever for an Aussie. As far as position players go, he's tied with Dave Nilsson after a single season.
Perhaps by the end of the season, he's claimed Cleveland's first World Series in 78 years and done it with his trademark dirt dog flavor. The card's nice. We don't mind it. But...even Clevelanders can see the fun in sneaking the Sydney Opera House or RayGun in the background, right?
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