Blake Sabol and Sean Manaea form first Samoan battery in MLB history vs. Royals
The SF Giants starting battery against the Kansas City Royals this afternoon made history at Oracle Park. Catcher Blake Sabol (Giants #33 prospect) and left-handed starter Sean Manaea became the first Samoan battery to appear in a regular-season MLB game.
“Sean's half-Samoan. I'm half-Samoan, as well,” Sabol told MLB.com’s Maria Guardado during spring training. “So I actually brought it up to him. I was like, ‘Dude, we might make history this year. We might be the first Samoan battery in big league history.’”
While MLB players with Samoan heritage like Benny Agbayani, Tolia “Tony” Solaita, Chris Aguila, Mike Fetters, Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, and Sam Tuivala have starred on the big-league diamond before, a Samoan pitcher and catcher had never teamed up for a big-league pitch until Saturday afternoon.
“It’d be incredible,” Manaea told Guardado about the prospect of forming a battery with Sabol. “I don’t think it has ever happened. It’d be a really, really cool thing to be a part of.”
Sabol, who joined the Giants this offseason via a Rule 5 draft trade, grew up in Orange County, California surrounded by Samoan family, including second cousin Pro Football Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu. His mother, who was born in Samoa, moved to California as a teen.
Sabol made the Giants Opening Day roster after hitting .348./475/.630 this spring. In his first big-league experience, Sabol is hitting .227/.320/.364 with a home run, walk, and eight strikeouts in 25 plate appearances. Behind the plate, he has struggled defensively. Sabol has not been credited with a passed ball but has been a catcher to several wild pitches that could have landed on his stat sheet. He has also only thrown out one of the five attempted base stealers
Manaea, who the Giants signed to a two-year deal this offseason, grew up a bit further from his heritage in Indiana, where there isn’t a large Polynesian population. His father was born and raised in American Samoa, and enlisted in the military where he was stationed in the Midwest.
A career starter, Manaea made his first appearance of the season out of the bullpen, allowing three runs over two innings of work. However, despite his struggles, the southpaw flashed elite potential with newfound velocity.
SF Giants catcher Blake Sabol will look to get the most out of Sean Manaea in Saturday's game against the Royals. But regardless of the result, the two will go down in history as the first Samoan pitcher-catcher duo in MLB history.
