About Travis d'Arnaud

Travis Emmanuel d'Arnaud (born February 10, 1989) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Atlanta Braves. He made his MLB debut in 2013 with the Mets. D'Arnaud won a Silver Slugger Award in 2020 and was a member of the 2021 World Series champions with the Braves. He was an All-Star in 2022.

Early life
Travis d'Arnaud was born in Long Beach, California, to Marita (Filipino-American), an elementary school teacher, and Lance d'Arnaud, an entrepreneur. His older brother, Chase, is also a professional baseball player. D'Arnaud also has a younger sister, Lindsey. A fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers growing up, his favorite player was Mike Piazza.

Lance d'Arnaud converted his son to catcher at age 12 because the team that he was coaching had a vacancy at that position. D'Arnaud attended Lakewood High School in Lakewood, California. As a high school ballplayer, d'Arnaud was named Lakewood's co-Athlete of the Year along with Artesia High School basketball player James Harden, a future NBA All-Star. He was also awarded an ABCA/Rawlings High School Gold Glove award in 2007.

D'Arnaud had committed to play college baseball for the Pepperdine Waves of Pepperdine University after high school, the same school for which his brother played, but was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the supplemental first round of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft, the 37th overall pick. He chose to void his college commitment and signed a minor league contract for $832,500.

Professional career
Philadelphia Phillies
In 2007, d'Arnaud started his professional career with the Philadelphia Phillies' Rookie League affiliate, the Gulf Coast League Phillies. He played 41 games in the GCL and put together a .241 batting average and a .626 OPS. In 2008, d'Arnaud began the season with the Phillies' Class-A Short Season affiliate, the Williamsport Crosscutters of the New York–Penn League. He played 48 games in the NYPL, hitting .309 with an OPS of .833 and was selected for the mid-season All-Star game. From there he was promoted to the Class-A Lakewood BlueClaws.

In 2009, d'Arnaud played with the BlueClaws where he remained all year, playing in 126 games. He hit .255 with an OPS of .738, though he hit 13 home runs. He was once again selected for the All-Star game, this time in the South Atlantic League. The BlueClaws went on to win the 2009 South Atlantic League championship.