On a night when Giants catcher Patrick Bailey stole the spotlight, fellow rookie Blake Sabol stole the hearts of baseball fans on Friday night.
When a youngster wearing a Giants jersey at Citi Field was called for fan interference in the fifth inning for touching a ball in play along the left-field wall, Sabol hustled over to console him.
“I felt bad for the kid there,” Sabol told reporters after San Francisco’s 5-4 win over the New York Mets. “He had a whole stadium booing him. I looked over and saw him sinking further and further in his chair. I think we all have had situations where we’ve had a mistake like that. I think he was just a kid excited at a baseball game, just trying to get a baseball.
“I ran over there, and the first thing he said was, ‘I’m so sorry!’ And I said, ‘Hey, you don’t need to say sorry. You don’t need to apologize. It’s all good. Don’t listen to everyone booing here, everything’s fine. Have fun, put a smile on your face. ‘
“Hopefully that made him feel better. I just felt bad.”
The young fan initially was getting booed by Mets fans because most in the ballpark assumed Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo would be stopped at third base after the interference. But the umpires ruled that Nimmo would have scored, a call that gave the Mets a 3-2 lead and was upheld after Giants manager Gabe Kapler’s challenge.
Sabol kept the bigger picture in mind — even after his team just fell behind — and offered the youngster a fist bump before heading back to his place in left field.
“He’s a big puppy,” Giants pitcher Alex Cobb said of Sabol after the game. “He’s a great kid.”
Sabol and the Giants are back in action at 1:10 pm Saturday at Citi Field. Tune in to NBC Sports Bay Area at 12:30 pm PT for “Giants Pregame Live.”
Download and follow the Giants Talk Podcast