Travis Bazzana continues building one of the more remarkable rookie seasons in recent Cleveland history, and Friday night added another notable chapter to it.
Bazzana launched a solo home run in the fifth inning of Cleveland’s 5-3 win over the Athletics, a 411-foot blast that put the Guardians ahead for good. The homer was his fifteenth of the season, pulling him even with Angel Martinez atop Cleveland’s team leaderboard.
That kind of production from a rookie does not come around often in this organization, and Bazzana could be on the verge of making franchise history.
“Bazzana is now tied for the team lead in home runs on the season with Angel Martinez. Last time a Cleveland rookie led the team in home runs in a single season was “Super Joe” Charboneau back in 1980 when he led the team with 23 long balls,” Guardians Prospective wrote.
Bazzana is now tied for the team lead in home runs on the season with Angel Martinez.
Last time a Cleveland rookie led the team in home runs in a single season was "Super Joe" Charboneau back in 1980 when he led the team with 23 long balls. https://t.co/XFYwOXbbYf
— Guardians Prospective (@CleGuardPro) September 19, 2026
That last happened in 1980, when Joe Charboneau led the club with 23 home runs on his way to American League Rookie of the Year honors. Bazzana is not there yet, but at only twenty four years old and already tied for the lead with more than a week left in the regular season, he is squarely in the conversation.
The timing of this surge has been especially notable. Over his last fifteen games this September alone, Bazzana has hit six home runs and driven in fifteen runs, numbers that rank among the best in the entire league for the month. For the season, he is hitting .250 with fifteen home runs, fifty seven RBIs and an OPS of .757 across 116 games, numbers that already place him among elite rookie company in franchise history. He recently became just the fourth rookie in Guardians history to reach at least fifteen home runs, twenty doubles and fifty-five walks in a single season, joining Al Rosen, Hal Trosky and Earl Averill on that list.
Bazzana, the first overall pick out of the 2024 Draft and Cleveland’s every day second baseman since debuting, has answered every challenge thrown his way this season. Now, with the Guardians fighting for a division title and Bazzana continuing to hit at this pace, both the team and its rookie second baseman appear to be building toward something memorable down the stretch.
NEXT: Jose Ramirez Made Franchise History On Friday
