2009 Topps Chris Sabo

One of my favorite players growing up was Chris Sabo. When I was in the sixth grade, in 1988, my class was given the assignment to interview someone we admired. Most kids chose their father or grandfather, or next door neighbor. I picked Chris Sabo. When I got home from school that afternoon, I called the Cincinnati Reds general offices and left a message for Mr. Sabo, explaining that I wanted to interview him for a school assignment. After leaving the message, I went outside to play. About an hour later, my mom started tapping on the window, waving for me to come inside because I had a phone call. Chris Sabo called me back.

Yeah, the guy was a rookie, but he was pretty popular in Cincinnati. I can’t imagine Jay Bruce or Joey Votto doing the same last year, and I would be willing to venture that Spuds was a bit more popular than even them (at least during his first season). We just lived in a different climate twenty years ago I guess.

So I got to interview Sabo, who said his favorite team growing up was the Tigers and he looked up to Al Kaline. I wish I still had the paper I used to write down the questions, because it was one of the thrills of my lifetime. He even left me a few tickets to a game and I got to sit in the players’ wives’ section right behind home plate. For a sixth grade kid, that was a huge deal. Chris Sabo made an impact on my life very early on, and made a fan for life!

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