Travis Helm (Central Washington) played eight of nine field positions to celebrate him as he enters his final year of eligibility. (Photo courtesy of Maevis Photography)
Lefties Celebrate Travis Helm Day at Civic Field
Written by: Thomas Johnson
Travis Helm (Central Washington) is headed toward the end of his baseball career.
Entering his third year at Central Washington and fifth year in college overall, Helm is entering his final year of eligibility, which was a cause for celebration.
Tuesday night’s affair was a non-league affair against the DubSea Fish Sticks, which means the game had no effect on the West Coast League standings. As such — to celebrate him — Helm had the opportunity to play every single position in the field besides pitcher in what was dubbed ‘Travis Helm Day.’
“I asked our head coach Don [Brais], I said, ‘Can I play all nine positions one of these days?’” Helm said postgame. “And he said he’ll try to figure it out. I’ve always been able to just kind of move around the field, do a little bit of everything so having that opportunity to really go out there and do a little bit of everything today was really nice.”
Helm started out behind the plate, made his way around the infield, then got up through the outfield before finishing back at catcher.
“Personally, my favorite was third base when I got to get that ground ball,” Helm said. “I played a little bit of infield growing up, but never really a whole lot on the left side so getting to get over there at short and third was really fun for me today.”
The do-it-all man reached base twice during the team’s 9-3 loss to the Fish Sticks off a walk and a hit by pitch, coming around to score once.
Helm is hitting a strong .258 in WCL play, which is fourth best of the currently rostered players. A returner to Port Angeles, the right-handed hitter has already doubled his hit total from the 2023 season and his batting average is currently over 100 points better this season.
His playing days might be coming to a close, but Helm will still be connected to baseball as he is looking to move into the education field.
“I’m planning on being a high school math teacher, hopefully coaching at that same school,” Helm said. “I’ve always been really great at math and I’m hoping to spread that joy to some students … Really just trying to help kids out so they can have the same experiences I did and enjoy their childhoods.”
While the Lefties could not pull out the win, it was an enjoyable experience for everyone in the park.
There was even an in-stadium trivia game where Port Angeles fans found out Helm’s future career plans and that he can play both the ukulele and the saxophone.
“My music teacher in elementary school did a little ukulele club, so there was probably about 10 of us in that club. We all just had our own ukuleles and we’d go after school, learn a few chords,” Helm said. “In middle school, I started playing in band and the saxophone was just always the coolest instrument to me. It sounds the best, it’s in actual songs and stuff, you hear it all the time.”
But most importantly, Helm enjoyed the game himself. Helm had a slick play to end the top of the third inning when he was at third base, then came back and closed out the away half of the fourth as he snagged a pop-up in shallow right field.”
Everytime Helm made a play, he would tip his cap towards his teammates as they celebrated their teammate.
“Probably my favorite moment overall was just the guys really supporting me and really buying into the ‘Travis Helm day,’” Helm said. “They really made it feel special, they were hooting and hollering like every ball I got, they were excited to see me make a play, even if it was routine.”
Helm’s final season with the Lefties is coming to an end, with only 11 home games left on the schedule. The farewell tour continues with a non-league game against the Redmond Dudes on Thursday at 6:35 p.m.
