I came across a picture of Chris Sabo the other day and it brought back such fond memories of my early love of baseball I felt compelled, by some higher power no doubt (maybe Deacon Maguire?), to create a FBHOF ‘award’ in his honor.  Sabo was not a great player by any means, but fans loved him for his hustle and the way he burst onto the scene from seemingly nowhere.   He was a surprise NL Rookie of the year winner in 1988 and after carrying the Reds offense in the 1990 World Series, had his one great season a year later batting .301 / .354 / .505.  He was never the same after that though, and was out of baseball before his age-35 season. 

Of course Sabo was most famous for his protective goggles that gave his manager, Pete Rose, the idea for his nickname “Spuds”, after the infamous Spuds MacKenzie no less.  All this screamed “fan favorite”, especially in the pre-sabermetric days of the late 80’s early 1990’s. 

The “Sabo Awards” are simply for those players who invoke fond memories.  They are likely not to be the best players of their era, or even a given year, but should still bring a smile to your face.  Best part about it however, is the fact it gives an open space for me to write just about anything.

The first Sabo honoree’s will focus on players that accomplished feats on the field for a full season, though I am sure one day we’ll get to the Kevin Maas’ and Sam Militello’s of the world.  This idea took root, by the way, as I was creating another frivolity, this time listing the best single season results in each stat category.  You can view it here.  Keep in mind this is not a list of the most HR’s hit per season for example.  Rather, it is a list of the most FBHOF points awarded in each stat category.  FBHOF points take into consideration league context in the form of league minimums and level of competition.

Anyway, on the awards. To begin with, how about the short reign of Mickey Tettleton.  The catcher’s best seasons were with the Rangers, Orioles, and Tigers and he was one of those Three True Outcome hero’s.  In his prime years from 1989 to 1996 he played in 1099 games, walking 810 times, hit 209 home runs, and struck out an incredible 1029 times.  This added up to a .245 batting average, .382 on-base percentage, and .471 slugging percentage.  He hit 30 home runs four times in that span topping 100 RBI once too.  This is all well and good, but the fondest memory of Tettleton, as most of you are likely waiting for, was his batting stance.  This picture is all early 90’s baseball, gotta love it.

Speedster Bip Roberts played for six different teams over 12 seasons, appearing in 120 games just twice, but in truth he was a pretty good player batting .294 with a .358 On-base percentage in over 4100 big league at bats.  He even finished 8^th in the MVP voting in 1992 after batting .323 / .393 / .432 with 92 R and 44 Stolen Bases.  But Roberts was forever immortalized thanks to a 1995 commercial with Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn.  I had no luck finding the video, so my memory will have to suffice.  I am sure I will not do it justice to the hilarity of this so hopefully you’ll remember the laughter on your own.

Bip is sitting in what looks like a dugout talking to Gwynn, claiming how the baseball card business can be profitable.  As proof, he points out that his own rookie card is worth $600 and surmises that it could go up to, what, $2000 in years to come.  Self-satisfied, Bip is interrupted by Gwynn who is clearly skeptical.  After glancing at the guidebook he lets Bip know that he’s looking at the price of a Hall of Famer Robin Roberts rookie card.  Laughing, he then says in the classic Gwynn drawl, “Says here your card is worth four cents!”  Bip ends the commercial by hopefully rebutting that it could be worth 10 cents if in mint condition.

How about Gerald Perry who stole an incredible 42 bases for Atlanta in 1987, as a first basemen of course.  Remember, 1987 was the year of power with Andre Dawson, Mark McGwire, George Bell, and Dale Murphy each hitting 40+ home runs.

Or Kelly Gruber, third basemen for Toronto in the mid 80’s through early 90’s, who found a way to drive in 118 runners in 1990 and finish 4^th in the MVP voting.  Initially loved in Toronto, Gruber suffered from a terrible injury to his spinal cord and was never he same.  The fans hated him for his fall from grace and ended up being traded straight up, for Luis Sojo, he of the career .649 OPS.

Finally, I will always remember how Carney Lansford used to stand at third base, crouched low to the ground and as still as possible with his mitt often touching the infield dirt.  He was like a snake ready to uncoil and rob my Yankees of hits more often than not.  Also, his image was all ballplayer, and you could always tell how intense he was even though he was quite a reserved individual.

That’s all for now, but there will be more Sabo awards in the months to come.  If you have any in mind, please share!