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| Travis Jankowski at the Rangers World Series Parade File Photo |
The Rangers would win the World Series last week against the underdog Arizona Diamondbacks as the Arlington-based team took the Series in five games.
The former first round pick was a late addition to the World Series Roster as he was added when both Max Scherzer and Adolis Garcia were injured in Game 3 in Arizona.
The Former Seawolf got the start in the outfield for the injured Garcia – who set the postseason record for runs batted in – and became the first Stony Brook Seawolf in MLB History to start a World Series Game.
The milestones didn’t stop there as the 32 year old from Lancaster, Pennsylvania impressed everyone in Game 4 as he went 2-4 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored, helping the Rangers win the game by a score of 11-7.
“To me, someone's gotta step up, right?” Jankowski said in a postgame interview with MLB Network following his performance in the World Series. “There's no replacing Adolis, especially what he has done in the postseason run. I got the news at 2 p.m. before the game, but I was ready to go 15 years ago and it's one of those things you try to step up and enjoy the moment.”
Jankowski was a first round pick following his historic 2012 season where he led the nation in triples and helped get the longshot Seawolves to Omaha as they beat LSU in the Super Regional.
Since being drafted in the first round, Jankowski has bounced around quite a bit as he started his career with the San Diego Padres and played in the Majors from 2015-2019 before he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for International Signing money. He would be released by the Reds and later caught on with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2021. In 2022 he split time with both the Mets and Mariners.
This past offseason, the Rangers decided to take a chance on Jankowski and it certainly paid off for both parties as the franchise won its first ever World Series and Jankowski now enters free agency again with a chance to catch on with either the Rangers or another MLB team in 2024.
"Throughout all the ups and downs during Travis's collegiate and professional career,” Head Coach Matt Senk said in a Press Release by Stony Brook Athletics. “he has always spoken deeply and fondly about what Stony Brook University, Stony Brook Athletics and Stony Brook Baseball has meant to him.”
Following the World Series victory, Jankowski became the only Seawolf to ever be a member of a team that won a major United States pro sports title (the NBA Finals, the Super Bowl, the World Series, and the Stanley Cup are considered the four major championships).
Although he has not been in the Seawolf red and navy in over a decade, Jankowski continues to make an impact on the Stony Brook Baseball program as he has become an inspiration to many. He is the perfect example of a pro athlete can come from anywhere, if you work hard enough, the scouts will find you.