Father's Day highlights Sabos' family bond

You’d be hard-pressed to find many people around the city of Cincinnati who don’t recognize the name Sabo. It immediately resonates with the older generations who were fortunate enough to watch third baseman Chris Sabo play seven of his nine Major League seasons with the Reds, beginning as a rookie in 1988 and ending in 1996. And now younger and older generations are getting to see his daughter, Annie, cover his former team as part of the Bally Sports Ohio telecast.

Growing up the daughter of the 1988 National League Rookie of the Year, a three-time All-Star, World Series champion and Reds Hall of Famer, it comes as no surprise that sports were a big part of the Sabo household. For Annie and her two younger sisters, Brooke and Olivia, sports were a significant part of their upbringing. All three played multiple sports and watched together as a family on TV. Her favorite subject growing up, as many kids can relate to, was gym.

“My mom said I couldn’t say that because it was embarrassing,” Annie said with a laugh.

But it wasn’t until around 10 or 11 years old that she realized a career centered around covering and not playing sports could be a possibility. And that realization was largely thanks to her dad.

“My dad really suggested this career. I had never really thought about it until then but have been pursuing it ever since,” she said. “He had a huge impact and influence on my sports career, just because we grew up watching baseball games every single day in the summer. In the fall it was Bengals games. So growing up in a really sports-focused family, it was pretty easy to decide this career choice.”

While her dad helped his daughter realize there could be an opportunity for a sports broadcasting career, he didn’t force her into it. In fact, Chris didn’t care whether or not any of his kids chose a path in sports. Annie is the only one of her sisters to be in the sports field.

“I’ve always done what I’ve wanted to do -- I’ve really never had to do a real job,” he said. “I just told all my kids, 'do something you love. If you like it, it won’t seem like a job.' And she’s in a profession that’s sort of like sports, it’s very competitive and she’s a very competitive person. She’s doing good. She started out small and worked her way up, and I think she’s really enjoying this gig. She’s just a natural, she’s always had a big personality, and I think that’d be perfect for TV. I’m more on the quiet side. Her and her sisters, they’re loud and they talk. They get that from their mom.”

The journey of working her way up began right after graduating from the University of Michigan, her dad’s alma mater, in 2015. Annie landed her first TV job at KRIS in Corpus Christi, Texas, and was there for two years before going to WFLA-TV in Tampa, Fla., where she currently lives. She worked in Tampa for two years before jumping over to Bally Sports North (BSN) in 2019. With BSN, she hosted pre- and postgame shows for both the Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Timberwolves.

In July 2021, with a wedding on the horizon and uncertain of how to juggle family with baseball and the upcoming start of another NBA season, she made the difficult decision to leave BSN after nearly two years. She joined the Big Ten Network as host of their B1G Tailgate show last fall, but from there, the next big step was still undecided.

After leaving BSN, Annie put out some feelers to those she knew and had connected with in the business over the years, and one of them was with the Reds. She inquired about any help they might need with Opening Day. Bally Sports Ohio’s Tom Farmer loved the idea and brought her in. Suddenly, a one-time Opening Day appearance turned into much more, as Annie was assigned co-host duties for the Reds Live pre- and postgame shows for various dates throughout season.

“It turned into something I wasn’t really expecting, but I am pleasantly surprised and happy to be with Bally Sports Ohio,” she said. “It’s been incredible so far and I hope to stay there for a long, long time. Covering my hometown team and having a recognizable name in the city of Cincinnati has been cool.”

Whether this current opportunity turns into something else remains to be seen, but Annie is prepared for whatever twist or turn this self-proclaimed rollercoaster ride of a career has ready for her next.

“My dad has never been in sports broadcasting, so I had to completely start this career from the ground up,” she said. “Of course, I had a recognizable name when it comes to baseball, but it has been a challenge. But I don’t think that anything worthwhile in life comes easy. It’s definitely been a career full of ups and downs it just seems like every two years I’m doing something different and moving on to something completely new and exciting. It’s a battle every day and my biggest competition in this job is me being at my best and that’s what I strive for every day.”

As for Chris, he’s just enjoying the moment. It’s not often a father gets to see his own daughter cover the team that drafted him. And this Father’s Day weekend, with Annie manning one of the chairs at the Reds Live set at Great American Ball Park, Dad is in town with a front row seat to watch his daughter in action.

“When she got this opportunity, I thought she’d be a natural,” he said. “She was born and raised in Cincinnati, she was a Reds fan growing up. Obviously, I played for the Reds. So it was a thrill seeing her on the station with Chris Welsh, Jeff Brantley and all those guys. Annie seems to be really liking it and I think she’s good at it, so hopefully this will lead to bigger and better things for her with the Reds.”

Growing up the daughter of a big leaguer, Annie was bound to have some unique memories that not many others get to experience. Being born in 1992, she wasn’t old enough to see her dad play a lot or remember much from those games. But she did get to see the culmination of his playing days by attending the 2010 Reds Hall of Fame Induction to see her dad receive a red jacket. In a special moment for the whole Sabo family, Annie and her sisters even presented their dad with his Hall of Fame plaque at the ceremony.

Sabo also remembers getting to go to Spring Training in Sarasota, Fla., when she was little. She recalls meeting the players, settling into the seats with a hot dog, some popcorn and a soft pretzel, and just the inherent excitement of another baseball season starting.

And even though they were asked separately, there was one distinct memory both her and her father brought up: spending a summer in Billings, Mont., while Chris was a Reds coach.

“We stayed at this little hotel called the Dude Rancher,” he said. “We had two connecting rooms in this little one-story hotel a couple blocks from the Billings stadium. All three of the girls, they were all fairly young. They’d come out early, I’d get the hose out and spray them and they’d run around the outfield before the players got there for batting practice. That summer at Billings was probably my favorite memory. I still think about that every once in a while.”

Another unique aspect of being a ballplayer’s daughter is the public recognition. It can be confusing as a young child as to why complete strangers are yelling your last name and wanting to meet your dad.

“I guess I didn’t really realize how big of a deal he was growing up until I got a little bit older,” she said. “My dad would always take us to Reds and Bengals games, and the recognition my dad got downtown was always awesome. That’s when I realized he was ‘kind of a big deal’ even though he will never admit he’s popular in Cincinnati. But it was cool. There were so many Sabo chants and yells. And I would do a double take like, ‘Are they talking to me?’ But now, sometimes people are yelling Sabo for me, which is unbelievable.

“To us, he was just our dad. But when we went out in public in Cincinnati, it was always an experience. But he’s super understated and doesn’t like the limelight. He’s just been a great a dad and it’s been a thrill to be his daughter.”