Travis Ozga hit .312 with eight home runs for FAU in 2009, his senior season. (FAUOwlAccess.com file photo)
That was quick
Travis Ozga played only one game with Kingsport before jumping two levels in the Mets organization.
Originally published on
6/25/2010
by
Chuck King
Apparently, Travis Ozga knows how to make a good first impression.
In what he considers his “best day of professional baseball,” the 2009 graduate went 2-for-4 with a home run and a double in his first game with the rookie league Kingsport Mets earlier this week. It was also his last game with Kingsport.
Ozga sat out the next day’s game, then was summoned to the manager’s office for a post-game conference.
“He was acting really somber, so I was like, what is going on here?’ said Ozga, who then learned he’d been promoted to Savannah of the South Atlantic League. “It was a roller coaster of emotions these last few days.”
Ozga never left Florida during his first professional season, hitting .194 for the Gulf Coast League Mets – the lowest level team in New York’s organization. When other minor leaguers broke camp in April to head to their new leagues, Ozga stayed behind in Port St. Lucie in extended spring training.
Ozga spent the first few months of the season with mostly teenaged players working to refine the fundamentals of his game. Following the draft earlier this month, those players were dispersed to short-season Class A teams.
“I was told by the (Class A) Brooklyn staff that they wanted me to player there with them,” said Ozga, whose promotion to Savannah allowed him to skip a stop in Brooklyn. “When I heard that I was going to Kingsport, I was a little shocked – not really upset because in the end I was still playing professional baseball.”
Ozga only spent four days in Kingsport, Tenn. and never played a home game. The Mets promoted eight minor leaguers this week from Savannah after the Sand Gnats clinched the South Atlantic League’s first half division title, leaving a vacancy that was filled, in part, by Ozga.
The Sand Gnats roster may still be in flux, but entering Friday they only had one other first baseman and one other third baseman on the roster. Ozga played mostly first base for FAU, but the Mets have been working him at third also during the past year.
Ozga says that extra work is paying off.
“I knew that everything I’d been doing in the off season and all of the coaching I’ve had in extended spring gave me the confidence to go (to Kingsport) and take over and relax.”
Stepping up: Ryan Bernal and Mike Gipson are both off to strong starts in their professional careers. Bernal allowed one hit in a scoreless 1 1/3 inning debut, while Gipson also hasn’t allowed a run in three innings, spanning two appearances. … Dan Cook currently owns a nine-game hitting streak for the Class A-South Atlantic League’s Augusta GreenJackets. He’s 15-for-38 during the streak.
Low and away: Nick Arata has said he’s out for the year after requiring arm surgery. He expects to be ready for next season. …Alex Pepe allowed three runs 1 1/3 innings in his first appearance of the season for the GCL Blue Jays. The plus side? None of those runs were earned… Chris Schmitt walked two, allowed two hits and one earned run in 2 1/3 innings of relief in his first outing for GCL Orioles.
Indy ins and outs: Danny Bomback went 2-for-3 with 3 RBI on Thursday in Pittsfield’s Can-Am game against Quebec. …Chris Salberg improved to 7-0 in eight starts for the Sioux Falls Pheasants of the American Association.