SF Giants: Blake Sabol’s unique catching journey has only just begun

SF Giants rookie Blake Sabol has already formed a historic battery with Sean Manaea, but he has his sights set on even more behind the plate.

The SF Giants made history in Saturday afternoon's 6-5 loss to the Royals. Giants starting left-handed pitcher Sean Manaea and starting catcher Blake Sabol (Giants #33 prospect) became the first battery in MLB history to be comprised of two Samoan players.

"It was really cool," said Sabol in a conversation with Giants Baseball Insider following the game. "I thought we represented well. I'm sure we had some Polynesian community members in the crowd here today. The hope is there are some Poly kids watching the game who see that and say, 'Hey, I want to try baseball. I can do that too.'"

"There are not too many of us Samoan baseball players," Manaea told reporters after the game. "To form a battery like that was incredible for all of us. It was just amazing to be a part of it."

The moment made waves across the baseball community. In fact, a ball from the game is headed to Cooperstown, joining the Baseball Hall of Fame's collection of artifacts.

A new piece of history is headed to the @baseballhall ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/OvjynWL1H2

— SFGiants (@SFGiants) April 9, 2023

The ripple effects were most profound throughout the Polynesian baseball community. Following the achievement, Giants Baseball Insider spoke to a pair of NCAA baseball players with Polynesian heritage to get their perspective on the event.

"Personally, I think it’s great for baseball and for the Polynesian community itself," said Beau Sylvester, a freshman catcher at Oklahoma State. "I love who I am and where I come from, and there’s a lot of good Polynesian arms in the pipeline right now that would be super cool to catch, hopefully, down the road. It motivates me as it should others like me."

"As a boy from Hawaii and a Polynesian, this just makes our people happy," said Safea Mauai, a sophomore slugger at Brigham Young University. "Knowing that people of our kind are capable of doing all things in this world. I think this inspires the younger generation of Polynesian kids to strive to become whatever they want to be in this life that we live."

While Manaea and Sabol were disappointed by the final score on Saturday, both were proud of the moment and their performance as a unit.

Manaea struck out eight over six innings of one-run ball, relying on his young catcher to guide him through the outing. Sabol called pitches for the veteran southpaw and was particularly impressed with Manaea's changeup.

"We were on the same page," Sabol said after the game. "He got into good rhythms. There were times near the end where you could see he was getting a little fatigued, and the fastball started coming down. So, it was cool with PitchCom to be able to remind him, 'Up. Get it to the top rail.'"

For Sabol, a rookie who was acquired in a Rule 5 Draft trade this offseason, sharing the historic moment with Manaea made it even more special.

"I always looked up to Sean because he was one of the only Samoan guys in the big leagues," Sabol said. "He was always a role model for me. So, it's really cool to be on the receiving end of his pitches and be out there with him working together."

SF Giants starter Sean Manaea and catcher Blake Sabol fist-bump during a game against the Royals. (2023) / John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Yet while Manaea may be far more established in the majors than his catcher on Saturday, Sabol's ability to overcome doubts about his defensive viability at catcher was just as pivotal in achieving that milestone.

Former MLB players with Samoan ancestry like Benny Agbayani, Tony Solaita, and Mike Fetters all had prominent careers, but none of the biggest names in Samoan baseball have had their success behind the plate.

Yankees infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who reached the majors as a catcher with the Rangers, is one of the only other backstops of Samoan ancestry to reach the big leagues. And he has not appeared in a game behind the plate since 2019.

Scouts have doubted Sabol's ability to catch throughout his career. While Sabol was a catcher in high school and caught games during his first two seasons in college at USC, he was a full-time outfielder by the end of his collegiate tenure.

Sabol was drafted by the Pirates in the seventh round of the 2019 draft and was going to be developed solely in the outfield. However, Sabol asked to get another shot at catcher when the Pirates farm system was thin at the position in the spring of 2021. They gave it to him, and he has primarily caught ever since.

Still, Sabol had only caught 94 minor-league games before this spring. Most evaluators remained skeptical that he could handle a big-league catchers' challenges.

It took significant strides from Sabol in his short time with the Giants organization to earn their trust behind the plate. And on Saturday, before he formed the first Samoan battery in MLB history, he noticed how far he had come.

"We were going through the drill work today, and you could just see, even in the few months I've been here, you could see how much better Albeez [Bullpen/catching coach Craig Albernaz], Burgy [Bullpen catcher Alex Burg], and B-Dub [Assistant coach Brant Whiting] have gotten me," Sabol said. "And the cool thing is we're just going to try to get better and better."

Statcast still suggests Sabol has a long way to go if he wants to be an above-average defensive backstop. While the early season small-sample sizes make it difficult to evaluate, Sabol's average pop time ranks 32nd out of 45 qualified catchers, and he ranks 50th out of 56 qualified catchers in a Blocks Above Average metric.

Granted, Sabol's poor blocking performance is not entirely unexpected. The Giants have encouraged their catchers to prioritize pitch framing even if it makes it more difficult to keep pitches in front of them. Sabol said he believes his pitch framing is, "up there with the best of them in the league."

Sabol particularly struggled to control the running game in the minors, only throwing out 17% of attempted base stealers (25% is generally around MLB average). Improving the quickness of his catch-and-throw from behind the plate has been a top priority early this season, and he's beginning to feel the work pay off.

"I think my throws have been getting better in between innings," Sabol said. "I don't have to think too much, whereas in spring training I felt like I was a little robotic. I'm starting to feel more natural."

Of course, the visible parts of catching defense are only one aspect of playing catcher in the major leagues. The other vital job is managing a pitching staff. A rookie and new member of the organization, Sabol has had to rapidly familiarize himself with a slew of new pitchers. He credited veteran catcher Roberto Pérez for helping guide him through that process.

"I'm still learning the day-to-day in the big leagues of working with a veteran staff," Sabol said. "Understanding when it's okay to give my say and let them know, 'Hey, I'm seeing something. Maybe we should try this,' instead of just letting them tell me what to do."

Once thought to be solely a hit-first corner outfield prospect, SF Giants rookie Blake Sabol has already proven evaluators wrong by reaching the majors as a catcher. His steadfast focus on improving allowed him to team up with one of his role models to form a battery that will go down in history. Now, looking ahead, he hopes to follow in Sean Manaea's footsteps and solidify his place in Major League Baseball for years to come.