Blake Sabol

Blake Joseph Sabol

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 225 lb.
• School University of Southern California
• High School Aliso Niguel High School
• Debut March 30, 2023

• Born January 7, 1998 in Aliso Viejo, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Utility player Blake Sabol made his major league debut on Opening Day on March 30, 2023, starting in left field for the San Francisco Giants against the New York Yankees at New Yankee Stadium. Since the game was the first one to get underway of the 15 played on that day, he and Anthony Volpe, who started at shortstop for the Yankees, can both be considered to be the first player to make his major league debut that day, although Volpe was on the field for the game's first pitch while Sabol, batting 8th, did not hit the field until the bottom of the inning. He went 0 for 2 with a strikeout before being replaced by pinch-hitter Jonathan Villar in the 8th inning in a 5-0 loss.

Sabol, of Samoan background, was drafted in the 7th round of the 2019 amateur draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates out of the University of Southern California. In the 2016 amateur draft, the Cleveland Indians had taken him in the 33rd round, but he decided to attend college instead of signing with them. He played in the Pirates system from 2019 to 2022 before being taken by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2022 Rule V Draft on December 7, 2022; the Reds then turned around and sent him to the Giants the next day. He was one of only two position players taken in the Rule V Draft that year alongside 13 pitchers; the other position player, Ryan Noda, made his debut on the same day as Blake. He quickly won regular playing time for the Giants, appearing both at catcher and in the outfield. On April 25th, he hit the first walk-off homer of his career, connecting off closer Ryan Helsley of the St. Louis Cardinals to give San Francisco a 5-4 win.

Further Reading

• Maria Guardado: "How Samoan roots connect these two new Giants", mlb.com, March 1, 2023. [1]
• Maria Guardado: "Rookie Sabol delivers first career walk-off homer", mlb.com, April 26, 2023. [2]

Related Sites

• Blake Sabol on mlb.com
• BR Minors page
• University of Southern California bio