SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS TEAM MATES SAMOAN CONNECTION
San Francisco Giants latest recruits - Sean Manaea (left in picture above) and Blake Sabol may make history as the first Samoan battery (The pitcher and catcher together) in Major Baseball League history if they get the opportunity to step out on the field together this season.
“Sean's half-Samoan. I'm half-Samoan, as well,” Sabol told the Giants Beat Newsletter. “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.’”
Sean Manaea is a pitcher who previously played in the Major League Baseball league for the Oakland Athletics (where he made his MLB debut in 2016) and the San Diego Padres. He became a free agent at the end of last year and in December signed a two year $25 million contract with the Giants.
His father was born & raised in American Samoa before moving to Hawai'i, serving in the Vietnam War and then was stationed in Indiana where he met Sean's mother. Sean was raised in the small town of Wanatah, Indiana.
Blake Sabol on the other hand was acquired by the Giants in the Rule 5 draft in December last year and grew up in Aliso Viejo, California in a vibrant Samoan community staying connected to his roots through his mother, who used to babysit his second cousin, NFL Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu.
Now that they share a clubhouse, Sabol is helping Manaea reconnect with Samoan culture, particularly through food. Sabol is already planning to have Manaea over for dinner later this week when his Mum visits Arizona and brings Samoan dishes over from Southern California.
“He grew up in Indiana,” Sabol told the Giant Beats newsletter. “He was like, ‘Basically, I grew up a white kid.’”
Read the full article here and get to know Sean a little more in the return of the San Francisco Giants 'Catchin Up' series on Youtube below -
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