Travis Jankowski: Short Time Mets Outfielder & Texas World Series Champ (2022)

Travis Paul Jankowski was born June 15th, 1991, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. He grew up a Phillies fan. His father Paul played college baseball & his mother Kelly was a softball player. 

Travis also had an older brother. Their father coached them in baseball & had a net installed in their basement so the boys could practice hitting. 

Trivia: As a child he was a big fan of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood earning him the nickname "Freddy".

He played both baseball & football at Lancaster High School making the AP All-State Team in his
junior year.

Stony Brook College: Travis attended Stony Brook college in Suffolk County & was the teams star player in their surprising run to the College World Series in 2012. He became the first played drafted out of the school when he was selected as a first round pick by the San Diego Padres (the 44th pick overall).

MLB Career: Travis played five years with the Padres (2015-2019) as a fourth outfielder, seeing the most action in 2016 playing in 131 games hitting 2 HRs with 13 doubles & 30 RBIs. He stole a career high 30 bases (8th in the NL) in 42 attempts his 12 caught stealing were 3rd most in the league. 

In 2018 he had career highs with 90 Hits 4 HRS 17 RBIs & a .259 batting average. he stole 24 bases (7th most in the NL) in 31 attempts. 

At the end of the 2019 season, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. In the Covid-19 shortened season, he played 16 games with the Reds & batted.067. In the Wild Card series loss to Atlanta, he appeared in Game #1 as a pinch runner. He then signed a one-year minor league contract with the Phillies & made the club on May 31st. 

In his third game as a Phillie, he came into run for Rhys Hoskins in the 9th inning & was thrown out at third base for the first out of the inning. 

He was booed by the Philly fans in the 2-1 loss. He played in 76 games batting .252 with six doubles a HR & 10 RBIs, with a .364 on base % & five stolen bases. He was granted free agency & was signed by the New York Mets.

Mets Career: On April 6th he was promoted to the Mets roster as a reserve outfielder. 

On April 9th in his first start he collected two hits in a 5-0 win over the Nat's in D.C. In that game the speedy Jankowski stole two bases.

The next day he collected three hits & scored a run in the Mets 1-03 win. On April 24th he drew a bases loaded walk in Arizona in a 6-2 win. On May 3rd in a 5-4 win at Atlanta, he collected two hits, drew a walk, scored three runs & stole his third base as a Met. He drove in one more run on the season.

Injury: On May 25th he made a diving catch in a 9-3 loss in San Francisco & injured his hand suffering a fracture that would keep him out of action until July 11th. Travis went 0-11 in his return & had not gotten a hit since May 3rd. He made a few appearances as a defensive replacement & pinch runner but was batting just .167 getting designated for assignment on July 29th.

On his return he drove in two more runs & stayed over .300 going into July. On July 1st he collected two with an RBI & stole two bases. The speedy Jankowski would also be used as a pinch runner & was the Rangers best base stealer.

He was picked up by the Seattle Mariners & came into one game as a defensive replacement. 

He was released & then resigned by the Mets, finishing out the year at AAA Syracuse. He was granted free agency at the end of the year.

Post Mets Career & World Series Champ: In 2023 he was given a minor league contract by the
Texas Rangers & made the club out of Spring Training.

Quotes- Travis Jankowski said he appreciated playing for the Mets " a top-class organization, but things didn't work out well for me there & I'm pretty excited to be playing for the Texas Rangers".

 On April 1st he had a pinch it RBI single in the Texas 16-2 win over the Phillies. On April 9th in his first start he drove in another run then two ore the next day in wins over the Kansas City Royals. Travis was batting .309 in three first week of May when he went down with a hamstring injury for the rest of the month.

Five RBI Game: On July 3rd, in a wild 12-11 loss to the Astros in Arlington, he hit a three run HR off Cristian Javier & then had a two-run single in the 5th inning. His five RBIs were a career high.

In August he had two multi-RBI games & hit two doubles. On the season he batted .263 with 12 doubles a HR 30 RBIs, drew 35 walks & posted a .357 on base %. 

He led the team with 19 stolen bases & was only thrown out once. Defensively he made no errors in 104 games (135 chances).

2023 Post Season: Travis did not play in the ALWC series win over Tampa or the ALDS win over the Baltimore Orioles. In the ALCS win over the Houston Astros he entered Game #3 & Game#5 as a 9th inning pinch runner both times. 

In Game #6 he came in as a pinch runner in the 8th then got his first post season at bat flying out.
In Game #7 Travis came in to pinch hit in the 7th inning, singling off Jose Urquidy in the 11-4 Rangers win.

Quotes- Manager Bruce Bochy: "He's been solid for us with the injuries we've had to deal with. He gives you good defense, speed. He gives you good at bats & has good discipline at the plate. Just a solid signing for us."

2023 World Series: In Game #3 of the World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Travis
replaced the Adolis Garcia who strained went down with an oblique injury & would be lost for the remained of the series. 

In 15 post season games up to that point Garcia had 8 HRs with 22 RBIs & was batting .323.

In Game #4 Travis got the opportunity to play in the World Series replacing the injured Garcia. 

In the Rangers five run 2nd inning, he singled off Miquel Castro & then scored on Marcus Siemen's two run triple. Later in the Rangers five run 3rd inning, he doubled off Luis Frias with the bases loaded bringing in two more runs. The Rangers won the game 11-7 taking three games to one lead. 

In the Game #5 Rangers series clinching win he went 0-3 with a walk. Travis along with his ex-Mets teammates Jacob DeGrom & Max Scherzer were World Champions with the 2023 Rangers.

2024 Opening Day HR: On Opening Day, Travis came to bat as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 9th inning with the Rangers down 3-2 to the Chicago Cubs. He tied the game with a pinch-hit HR off Albert Alzolay. Texas won it in the 10th inning on Jonah Heim's Walk off base hit.

Thru May 3rd, he was batting .222 with a HR & three RBIs. As a pinch hitter he was 2-7.

Career Stats: In his career he played 594 games, batting .240 with 323 hits 48 doubles 10 triples 11 HRs 87 RBIs. He struck out 320 times drew 163 walks with 91 stolen bases in 115 attempts, he posted a .326 on base % & a .641 OPS.

 In 506 games in the outfield, he posted a .994 fielding % with five errors in 767 chances with four assists.

Family: Travis & his wife Lindsey (Stoltzfus) were married in 2017, they have three children together. The Jankowski family are devout Christians & live in Lancaster, PA.