We are joined by 2017 Collegiate National Team alum Travis Swaggerty. Travis ranked second on the team in hits (21) and on-base percentage (.449) and third in stolen bases (6) and batting average (.328) along the way to a 15-5 record. He also earned batting champion honors in the Chinese Taipei series in route to a four-game sweep, as well in the five-game series victory against Cuba.
Travis spent three years at the University of South Alabama where he racked up 27 home runs and numerous top player rankings throughout his career, including being named to the 2018 All-Sun Belt First Team. Afterwards, he was taken 10th overall, second-highest in South Al history, in the 2018 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates where he is currently a member of the Bradenton Marauders.
USA Baseball (USAB): When did you realize that playing baseball professionally was more than just a dream and was an actual obtainable goal?
Travis Swaggerty (TS):That's a good question, I would probably say after my freshman year college. You know in high school I was a good player but I was going to South Alabama, not a huge school but still some big names coming out of there. My Freshman fall I still had an "I hope I make it" kind of mindset versus "I'm going to make it". I actually had a really good freshman year and came off that. I got the whole summer off and once I came back to school my sophomore year I was in the best shape of my life. I was feeling good, balls starting to fly little bit and I was like "hey man, I can do this," so I kind of put my nose to the grindstone after that and here I am.
USAB: At any part in that process did you really believe, "I'm not just a draft pick but like a top 10 pick?
TS:That actually never became realistic until it happened. Honestly, I guess the goal when I got to college like maybe top ten rounds would be awesome. You know what that was a pretty reachable goal I thought. I think once I got to Team USA, honestly. I went out there and I still didn't feel like I fit in because there was a bunch of big school guys. I was really one of the few smaller school guys so I was like man I really have to prove myself. Once I made the team and started playing I start playing pretty well and I was like man I can hang these guys. Right then I knew I had a good shot but I didn't really understand until it happened.
USAB:You are a product of the University of South Alabama believing in yourself is a big thing. Who comes to mind in terms of people helping you believe that along the way?
TS:A lot of people. I think South Alabama was perfect for me because we kind of have that blue-collar aspect being a smaller school so a couple of my teammates and coaches really kept me level-headed where I needed to be. Some of the names that come to mind one is Brendan Donovan (Cardinals) and Dylan Hardy (Red Sox) and those two guys are actually going to be in my so we're really close. Those guys have a similar work ethic to me and we surrounded ourselves with each other but I think we kind of fed off each other and now we're all playing professionally so I think that that's no surprise.
USAB:Let's go back to draft day, were you expecting your name to be called and what was it like?
TS:I was at the draft. I had no idea. I had my dad, my cousin, my best friend and mine now fiancé by me. You know must people who sit at home get a call but I was sitting in my chair in the corner. I had my phone in my pocket but I couldn't check it, there's cameras on you so I didn't have any calls or anything. So as soon as commissioner Manfred went up and called my name it was a huge shock.
USAB:What was the first thing on your mind and what were your emotions to hear the commissioner himself mention your name as the next draft pick?
TS:I honestly had no thoughts all I could do was cry. It had finally happened for me, the dream you know. I had nothing going through my mind but like thank goodness, I'm so blessed I made it and now the real work has to begin.
USAB:What have you found is the biggest difference between how you expected entering minor league baseball to be and reality?
TS:I feel like I expected what happened but it really its the everyday grind you know in college you get Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday sometimes Wednesday but you get a lot of practice days some off time but pro ball you don't get any. You get some leisure time spent in the morning before the game and most of the time people want to sleep because you're so tired because you play every day. That and the bus trips every week. I wasn't expecting to travel like that. I thought it would be a little bit easier; it is not. You play a night game on the road on Wednesday, you get on the bus and you drive back home 8 hours, you wake up the next morning and you've got to get up and eat and go back to the park. So it's just nonstop.
USAB:Do you think that playing at a school like South Alabama helped prime you better than other guys that are in the minors?
TS:I don't necessarily think so. I mean we never got to really fly anywhere except one trip a year. I don't think that really prepared me any more than the work ethic piece. I think because it was a blue-collar school we thought we had to work a little harder to be able to compete with everybody else, so I think taking that attitude was a huge advantage for me.
USAB: You performed really well with the Collegiate National Team in the summer of 2017. What did you learn from that experience?
TS:I think I learned how to handle the Scouts a little better. You know before that I really didn;t have a lot of eyes on me and every day you look in the stands and there are scouts from every single team. You have to be able to perform with eyes on you and I think that primed me to be able to just play and focus on the game and not worry about who's in the stands.
USAB: What do you remember about the build-up to it? Was it an unexpected call when you got the invite to training camp with the CNT?
TS:Our head coach Mark Calvi knows someone with Team USA and he got my name out there and Eric Campbell came and watched when we played at Appalachian State in North Carolina. I didn't have a very good weekend but I was having a good year and he told me that because I was the first guy out of the dugout to congratulate the guys for doing something well and just being a good teammate, he said I was the type of guy that he wanted. I was very fortunate that even though I didn't play well I just kept my head down and tried to be a good teammate and at the end of the day that's all that matters.
USAB: What was the mentality heading in and getting to know a lot of bigger school guys?
TS:I got to be around guys like Madrigal and Vaughn and Steele Walker and Shumake and a lot of those guys I got close with. They all approach the game a little bit different way so I got to see what their routine was in the cage and what they liked to do off the tee and I took some of that with me. We fed off each other a lot. You know I thought at the beginning I would try to do a little too much because I was small school guy but it actually turned out to be the opposite I tried to do less and because I tried to do less I got to slow the game down and a little bit and was actually able to have success.
USAB: When you're on a USA Baseball roster, you only get a few months to be around your teammates. How do you bond with those guys in such a short period time and what was your experience like?
TS:It was very easy because we're all going through the same thing, you know. There's some growing pains like learning to get with a new team but everybody's there for the same reason so I think we gelled pretty quickly. Along with staying in the hotel together with was huge. We had as much comradery as possible. We'd go out to eat every day and just try to do something to get to know people. We'd play cards in the anything we could do to get acclimated and it happened pretty quickly. I thought we became friends within the first couple of days before games even started so it was probably the easiest acclamation I ever had.
USAB: Among the handful of guys that you mention is former Golden Spikes Award winner and two-times Collegiate National Team guy, Andrew Vaughn. What's your relationship like with him?
TS:I have a funny story about Vaughny. The first night I was asleep because he flew in really late and apparently, he woke me up and I introduced myself. I woke up next morning and had no recollection so I had to reintroduce myself again. He made fun of me pretty good for that. And then on the second night I was FaceTiming my now fiancé and he starts laughing because he said that she had a really thick southern accent, which she does. And he says, "I need to get me a southern belle like that." So, I told my fiancé and now he's with her best friend who is her maid of honor actually. So, we got them together and sparks flew and now here we are. A California boy with a Mississippi girl, that's right.
USAB: You made the decision to leave South Alabama after your junior year when you were drafted. How did you know it was the right time?
TS:It was relatively easy based on being picked 10th overall so I didn't really have any issue with that. It was really getting into pro ball and being the first-round pick. I feel like at the time I put a lot of pressure on myself trying to show why I was the first-round pick, even though people were telling me not to worry about that. That was tough for me. You were talking about on the water in Alabama and then I had to go up to West Virginia in the mountains and I had never been in the mountains so it was a bit of a culture shock but it wasn't too bad. I was really just playing my game that was all I had to do. I actually ended up having a pretty good summer so it worked out.
USAB: What was the best advice you received beforehand about the differences between college and pro ball?
TS:You get more information. I think the best advice was to do more studying. I think you don't really get a lot of information in college. For us at least at [South Alabama] before games our hitting coach would come up to us round us up in a circle and say, "this is what the pitcher's got, go out there and play." It's not that simple anymore. Now we have video you can watch, there's scouting reports and so much information. Basically, I was told to learn how to study, learn how to break down the data and it'll work in your favor so I think that was the best.
USAB: Do you find yourself diving into analytics on a year-to-year basis and digging into your performance and evaluating yourself that way?
TS:Not necessarily. I think for me I can feel how my body feels and what my body's telling me. So, hitting wise I can feel when something doesn't feel right versus watching. I video myself if something doesn't feel right. I'm sure every hitter is aware of where they hit the ball well and where they don't. I don't really need to see that. Mainly to look into the data I look at the pitcher I'm facing that way I can actually derive a plan. Before I get into the cage I have to have a plan against that guy. I would say I use the data more for pitchers than myself.
USAB: What's it been like as you are currently waiting things out and waiting for the season to begin?
TS:It's strange. I will say that it's strange because we don't really have a timeline really yet. I'm sure we'll get one soon but it's hard to know what to prepare for. Do you go hit in the cage five or six times a week or how much do you throw like we don't know, so that's just uncharted waters for everybody so I don't feel like I'm at a disadvantage. The part that does stink a little bit is not having a gym to go to so you're just using equipment around the house and just make shifting anything just to get something in. I hit a lot, probably 5-6 times a week. We have a high school around here that still has its doors open for us. You know you're supposed to take advantage of any crisis that we go through and I think I've spent a lot more time with the family and it's a good thing. At least with no baseball I get to be around the family so it's good. It's been going well.
USAB: When you were drafted you said your two favorite hobbies were cooking and playing PlayStation golf, is that still true?
TS: I still cook a little bit stay sharp, but I'm back on Call of Duty now, that takes up more of my time anyway. For the most part I try to spend as much time with the family and dogs as possible. I try to cook something every day to stay sharp and keep my weight up. I will say the last time I tried to cook deer sausage I burned it. So, I've been making sure I don't burn it anymore, I've been babying it so I'm getting better at it so I don't make any more mistakes. I'm eating good around here.
Give Travis a "follow" on Instagram @tswag_21 and Twitter @TSwaggerty_21!
