He might’ve only been in sixth grade at the time, but Travis Honeyman vividly remembers watching his older brother, Bobby, star for the Massapequa Chiefs in the early part of the decade.
“I went to every home game and I just remember saying ‘I can’t wait for when it’s my turn,’ said the now-15-year-old.
With the Chiefs taking home the 2017 Long Island Class AA championship this year, Travis–now in ninth grade but playing on the JV10 team–is closer to making that goal a reality.
“I’m even more excited now,” he said. In fact, he was able to live vicariously through his two best friends who were called up. Both of them, Johnny Castagnozzi and Chris DeSousa, are supremely talented players that will be part of the next wave of elite ballplayers for the Chiefs.
Travis will soon become part of that group.
If he was a secret before, the word got out when he was invited to participate in the annual Power Showcase which was held in Arlington, TX at Globe Life Park (home of the Texas Rangers). He put on a stellar performance, taking home first place in his age bracket.
It was an experience he will not soon forget.
“It was probably the best experience of my life,” he said. “I was really nervous on my way there but once I got there, everything changed. All I saw was the pitching machine when I stepped into the box.”
He defeated Blaze Jordan, who has become an internet celebrity after he hit a 395-foot home run as an 11-year-old in the showcase a couple years ago.
Since that time, colleges have begun to take notice of Honeyman. He noted that his coach, Matt Marsh, was instrumental in this process as he took time to put together video tapes and send them off to colleges.
During the 2017 season, he performed very well. He batted .467 with 19 RBI and seven doubles in 19 games while playing against players a year older than him. At 15-years-old, there is often a tremendous disparity in physical maturity. For him to dominate as he did, makes it even more impressive.
Next week he will face an even greater challenge. His team, Motus Academy, will be playing in the Perfect Game East Cobb Invitational, which is a breeding ground for the top amateur baseball players in the country to get scouted and eventually offered scholarships.
Although he is excited, he understands you can’t rush the process of committing to a college. His brother committed to Stony Brook during the summer leading up to his junior year, and he is still a year a way from that.
“Personally I wouldn’t be opposed to committing early but I think my parents want me to wait,” he said.
If he performs well, there will be no lack of interest from schools all over the country as his power is valued currency in the game of baseball.
He noted that he has a great support system, with his brother being “one of the best role models there is.”
Honeyman is also a shortstop and he stated that he has always modeled his play and his demeanor after former New York Yankees SS Derek Jeter due to his professionalism on-and-off the field.
As many kids do, Honeyman would love to play professional baseball. He stated that Jesse Berardi getting drafted by the Cleveland Indians is “pretty big for Long Island position players.”
“Now we are even more hungry.”
