Travis Bazzana's piece of Australian sporting history will also be lucrative after he was recruited with the No.1 pick in the Major League Baseball draft.
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The big-hitting left-hander from Sydney is the first Australian to be taken in the first round of the draft, let alone the top choice.
Baseball's top pick this year had a slot value of $US10,570,600 ($A16 million) under the bonus pools system that began in 2012.
That means the 21-year-old Bazzana will have a sign-on bonus of about $A15 million when he officially joins the Cleveland Guardians.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced on Monday morning (AEST) that the Cleveland Guardians had chosen the second base, currently playing for Oregon State University.
Bazzana celebrated with family and friends in Oregon, including parents Gary and Jenny, plus his older brothers Mitch and Hayden.
He was due to fly to Cleveland on Tuesday to officially join his new team.
There was no doubt that the Australian would be recruited in the top five picks. He is also the first second base to be the No.1 pick.
"It means a lot. It's hard to put into words, but it means everything," Bazzana told ESPN from Oregon.
"I'm just stoked to be with the people that I am, right here, right now."
Bazzana, who also played cricket growing up in Sydney, said he wants to raise baseball's profile in Australia through his career.
"I see a lot of opportunity - an opportunity to make an impact on a lot of (baseballers) and just people back home in Australia, hopefully change the narrative for the sport," he said.
"While baseball classics and Olympics are something I want to see on the cards ... I just want to give belief to players back home that (they) can go do great things in the US and pursue a major league dream.
"Hopefully this is a step towards that."
Bazzana had an exceptional .407 batting average this season for Oregon State, with 28 homers and 66 runs batted in.
Cleveland had the top pick for the first time since the draft started in 1965, winning a weighted lottery in December despite having a two per cent chance.
The lottery was introduced last year as part of a collective bargaining agreement provision to discourage struggling teams from deliberately trying for a top draft pick by offloading veterans.
Teams were to make the first 74 picks on Monday at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth.
Manfred was booed by the roughly 2000 fans on hand when he emerged on stage through the set's saloon doors to announce Bazzana as the No.1 choice.
Bazzana's home club, the Ku-Ring-Gai Stealers, held a function on Monday morning to watch the draft.
He will now go to one of Cleveland's minor league teams and - depending on his form there - could make his major league debut for the Guardians as early as this season.
The Guardians lead the American League Central standings with a 58-37 record, the second-best across the major leagues.
- with AP
Australian Associated Press
