Travis Buck

Travis George Buck (born November 18, 1983) is an American baseball coach former professional outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians and Houston Astros.

Travis Buck
Buck with the Houston Astros in 2012
Outfielder
Born: (1983-11-18) November 18, 1983
Richland, Washington
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 2, 2007, for the Oakland Athletics
Last MLB appearance
May 28, 2012, for the Houston Astros
MLB statistics
Batting average.243
Home runs20
Runs batted in95
Teams

College career

Buck attended Richland High School before enrolling at Arizona State University. He played college baseball for the Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team from 2003-2005. He is eighth in the ASU all-time hits category with 272, and his 110 hits in 2005 are the ninth-most in Sun Devils history. In 2004 and 2005, he was selected as a Pac-10 Conference All-Star outfielder, and in 2004 he helped lead Team USA to a gold medal in the World University Baseball Championship, finishing second on Team USA hitting .412 (28-for-68) with two doubles, two home runs and 14 RBI.[1] He won the Pac-10 Player-of-the-week award in consecutive weeks in 2004, a feat that was not repeated by a Sun Devil until Ike Davis in 2007.[2]

Professional career

Oakland Athletics
Buck playing for the Sacramento River Cats, Triple-A affiliates of the Oakland Athletics, in 2009.
Travis Buck
Medal record
Men’s baseball
Representing  United States
World University Championship
2004 Tainan Team

He was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 23rd round (700th overall) in the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft, but opted not to sign with the Mariners so that he could attend Arizona State University. He was later drafted by the Athletics as the 36th overall selection of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft.

In 2006, Buck split time between High A (the Stockton Ports) and Double-A (the Midland RockHounds). He finished the year hitting .302 for Midland with four home runs in 212 at-bats. He was selected as an outfielder for the United States in the All-Star Futures Game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.[3]

Prior to 2007, Buck was rated as the top prospect in the Oakland organization[4] and the #50 prospect in Major League Baseball[5] by Baseball America. He was in the Opening Day lineup for Oakland due to an injury to first baseman Dan Johnson, which prompted manager Bob Geren to shift Nick Swisher to first base and tab Buck as the starting right fielder.[6] Buck went 1-3 in the game, with his first major league hit being a double off Mariners starting pitcher Félix Hernández.

Buck was the opening day right fielder for the Athletics in 2008, but spent much of the season at Triple-A Sacramento, before being recalled in September.

On December 2, 2010, Buck was non-tendered by the Athletics making him a free agent.[7]

Cleveland Indians

On December 20, 2010, Buck signed a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians. He made their 2011 opening day roster, but was soon sent down to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers when Grady Sizemore was activated from the disabled list. However, when Sizemore returned to the disabled list in mid-May, Buck was recalled.

Buck was designated for assignment on July 28. After the 2011 season, he elected for free agency. On October 6, 2011, Buck elected free agency.[8]

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros signed Buck to a minor league contract on November 9, 2012.[9]

San Diego Padres

Buck played in the San Diego Padres organization in 2013. He became a free agent after the 2014 season.

Coaching career

After ending his playing career, Buck opened a baseball training facility in Richland, Washington called TBuck Training.[10] Buck was named the Boise State University Baseball director of player development and bench coach on August 20, 2018.[10]

References
  1. "Player Bio: Travis Buck". CSTV.com. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
  2. "#1 in College Sports". CSTV.com. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  3. "2006 Futures Game Rosters". Baseball America. Retrieved 2007-08-14.
  4. "Top 10 Prospects: Oakland Athletics". Baseball America. 2006-12-06.
  5. "2007 Top 100 Prospects". Baseball America. 2007-02-28.
  6. "Four unexpected players make roster". MLB.com. 2007-04-01.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2012-09-14.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. Axisa, Mike. "22 Triple-A Players Elect Free Agency". MLBTradeRumors.com. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  9. Nicholson-Smith, Ben (November 9, 2011). "Astros Sign Travis Buck". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
  10. Annie Fowler (August 20, 2018). "Boise State turns to this Richland coach to help restart their baseball program". Tri-City Herald. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
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