Former Cincinnati Reds’ star Chris Sabo adds zip to rebuilding Akron program

ATHENS — Chris Sabo made a baseball career out of taking on challenges at the plate, on the base paths and playing third base.

So when Mid-American Conference school Akron reached out to Sabo about rebuilding its program from scratch, the former Major League Baseball All-Star and Cincinnati Reds World Series Champion said he couldn’t resist the opportunity.

“They had dropped baseball in 2015, so there was nothing — no baseballs, no uniforms and the field was in disrepair,” said Sabo, who had been running an elite baseball program at the IMG Academy in Florida, produced 10 MLB draft picks his five years running that program.

“I saw this as a challenge.”

Akron hired Sabo in October of 2018, with neither the new head coach nor the program administrators having any idea that a global pandemic would add to an already long list of challenges.

Not only were the Zips lacking equipment and adequate facilities, but the same program that played No. 15-ranked Georgia to a 1-0 result on Friday night was not offering athletic scholarships to attract players.

“The money we give kids athletically, we have to raise,” said Sabo, whose program was 1-12 in its return to the college ranks in 2020 before the season was shortened, and 15-36 last year.

“We’re nowhere near the 11.7 scholarships (allotted), and no one is over 25 percent.”

The whole reason Akron had cut out baseball— and 215 positions — back in 2015 was to save on costs in the athletic department, so there were going to be provisions in bringing it back.

But if they are playing for Sabo, they are learning what it takes to compete at the highest level.

Sabo was a first-team All-American at Michigan, leading the Wolverines to a third-place finish at the College World Series in 1983 before the Reds drafted him in the second round that same year.

Sabo worked his way up through the minors, and he was the 1988 National League Rookie of the Year after getting called up by Cincinnati.

Two years later, Sabo keyed the Reds’ stunning sweep of the powerful Oakland Athletics in the 1990 World Series. Sabo blasted two home runs in a come-from-behind 8-3 victory in Game 3 in Oakland en route to leading Cincinnati with a .563 batting average during the series.

But when Sabo uses the word “superstar” these days he’s referring to Bill and Mary Skeeles, who truly opened the door for Akron baseball to have any chance at being competitive with their million-dollar contribution in 2019.

“The University of Akron provided me with a practical education and leadership opportunities that helped to shape me into the community leader and successful businessman I am today,” said Bill Skeeles, who founded PointeNorth Insurance Group in Atlanta in 1996.

“The opportunity at the University with Coach Sabo and the baseball program to make an impact on so many students was appealing to us.”

Sabo brags on the Zips’ synthetic turf, which enables the program to practice in the sort of damp, cold, 30-degree temperatures they dealt with this week leading up to the Georgia series.

“We have a brand-new field, sound system and press box,” Sabo said. “So even though we don’t have athletic scholarships, we have a nice field to show the recruits.”

The Zips trip to play Georgia at historic Foley Field has been another step forward for the program, which hadn’t played on SEC soil since a 2013 trip to Kentucky.

“Last weekend we were in Nashville playing Lipscomb, and then the following weekend after thus we’l play Louisville before going back and opening up the MAC at our place with Toledo,” Sabo said.

“My theory is, I’ll play as good as of a team that will play us.”

The Bulldogs, Sabo noted during his preparations, are loaded with talent.

“We’ve looked at their pitching and hitting, and they have a lot of pros on their team,” Sabo said. “It’s going to be fun having an SEC experience with fans in the stands and nice weather.”