Former Stony Brook star Travis Jankowski thrilled to join Reds after past struggles

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — On Oct. 31, 2019, Travis Jankowski was sitting inside his family’s home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, tired after 18 holes of golf. It was Halloween afternoon, and all he wanted was to relax, kick back, maybe take his baby son Bentley out for some trick or treating.

Then — the buzz.

Not the buzz of hitting a 380-foot home run.

Not the buzz of stealing a base.

“The buzz,” he said, “of my phone.”

Like most people these days, Jankowski isn’t one to answer unfamiliar numbers. But the 619 area code was San Diego calling. And when San Diego calls, and you’re a Padre .  .  .

“You answer,” Jankowski said. “You have to.”

The voice on the other end was Fred Uhlman, the team’s assistant general manager. In that respectful, almost remorseful tone perfected by insurance claim adjusters and sports executives delivering somber news, Uhlman told Jankowski that he had been traded to the Cincinnati Reds.

“We appreciate everything you’ve done for us,” he said. “You’ve had a tremendous impact on this team.”

Jankowski listened, digested the information, thanked Uhlman for his time, hung up.

Then screamed — for joy.

The former Stony Brook All-American — who set single-season school records in batting average (.414), hits (110), runs (79) and triples (11) while leading the Seawolves’ shocking run to the 2012 College World Series — felt as if he were being liberated from the depths of his personal baseball hell.

Sure, he loved the weather of San Diego. The fish tacos and breathtaking coastlines, too.

But ever since he was plucked by the Padres with the 44th pick in the 2012 draft, Jankowski’s dreams (star outfielder on a pennant-winning club) had been doused by harsh realities. The Padres were never particularly good. Playing time was hard to come by (in five big-league seasons, Jankowski never has received more than 347 at-bats).

The 2,628 miles separating Lancaster and San Diego were plentiful and lonely. Worst of all, there was the never-ending string of injuries — a broken wrist at Double-A San Antonio in 2014, a hairline fracture of his right foot with the Padres in 2017, a fractured right wrist last spring training that shelved him for four months.

That one — the wrist — was the worst of the worst.

Jankowski, now 28, had been a lock to make the Padres, either as a starter or a fourth outfielder. With the malady, he spent his days in Arizona, rehabbing at the club’s Peoria facility, catching his team on TV, simultaneously cheering and crying.

“To sit down on the couch and watch them win and watch someone else take your job, and you’re not there — it sucks,” he said. “It sucks not being a part of it. Last year, the Padres started really hot, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is awesome.’ But then you remember, ‘I’m on a couch. They’re playing. It’s happening without me.’ I had to stop watching. It was too much.”

If anything, the string of misfortune has served to keep Jankowski grounded. He is one of nine outfielders fighting for a spot on the Reds’ Opening Day roster, and though his speed (he has stolen 62 bases in 84 attempts in his career and is one of the fastest players in camp) and slick glove help him stand out (as does his shoulder-length, sandy-hued hair), nothing is guaranteed.

“I’ve seen quite a bit,” Red manager David Bell said. “He is really an elite defender, which is a huge asset. But I have to see him play more.”

If he winds up with Triple-A Louisville, Jankowski said, “I wouldn’t be thrilled. But the game is unpredictable.”

In many ways, Jankowski’s life has been lived in the baseball shadows. He attended Stony Brook as a last resort (it was the only Division I school to offer a baseball scholarship) after having come to the sad reality that no major college football programs were after a 6-2, 165-pound wide receiver out of little-known Lancaster Catholic High (home to a single NFL player, former Buccaneers tight end Ryan Purvis).

There were no major-league ambitions at the time, no dreams of one day wearing a Padres or Reds uniform.

“Honestly, I just wanted to play college ball,” he said. “It’s not like the majors are filled with guys from Stony Brook. Heck, I didn’t even know Stony Brook was a college.”

He made his major-league debut on Aug. 21, 2015, at Petco Park, and in his first at-bat, he lined a single to center off Cardinals starter John Lackey.

“I’d never been more locked in in my life,” he said. “I felt like I could count the seams on the ball. Then you get your first hit and you’re running down the line and you feel like you’re floating. You get to first base and you’re like, ‘Did I just fly to first? How in the world did I get here?’  ”

Travis Jankowski is a Red. He knows how he got here.