Something remarkable happened for the Cincinnati Reds Saturday, and the man on the mic for it received plenty of plaudits for his handling of the situation. John Sadak has been the Reds’ primary local TV announcer on Bally Sports Ohio since the 2021 season, following the resignation of Thom Brennaman near the end of the 2020 season. And Sadak delivered an impressive call of Cincinnati rookie shortstop Elly De La Cruz stealing second, third, and home during the same at-bat:
https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1677808997448171521
As many noted after this, De La Cruz made some incredible Reds and MLB history here:
There's never been a player like Elly De La Cruz in the 154-year history of baseball's first professional franchise. Greasy Neale was the last Cincinnati Reds player to steal second, third and home in the same inning on Aug. 15, 1919.
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) July 8, 2023
ELLY DE LA CRUZ IS THE 2ND PLAYER IN AT LEAST THE EXPANSION ERA (1961) TO STEAL 3 BASES IN A SINGLE PLATE APPEARANCE, JOINING:
May 18, 1969 Rod Carew, 3rd inning with Harmon Killebrew batting
h/t @EliasSports https://t.co/8mI8g6ckjC
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 8, 2023
At 21 years old, Elly De La Cruz is the youngest player in the live-ball era (since 1920) to steal 3 bases in an inning.
(h/t @ESPNStatsInfo) pic.twitter.com/m9WelYiouR
— ESPN (@espn) July 8, 2023
And the way Sadak called this earned him quite a bit of praise:
Haven’t seen a rookie this exciting in a while. de La Cruz is so fascinating to watch!
BTW-wonderfully called by @johnsadak -who has to be pinching himself that he gets to call Elly’s exploits every night. The perfect voice and energy to match these plays. #lovesportscasting https://t.co/IGvrfNwqgs
— Phil Giubileo (@philgpbp) July 8, 2023
https://twitter.com/JackBenjaminPxP/status/1677821610454073344
I really do enjoy John Sadak. He's crazy, but it's the right kind of crazy. https://t.co/5ZzZefgyrj
— Becky Hammon, Hall of Famer (@kneary22) July 8, 2023
"The most thrilling man in baseball just stole home!!" @johnsadak with the absolutely perfect call of baseball's most exciting play. And it was no double steal. Elly De La Cruz is without a doubt the most thrilling player in the sport. Period.
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) July 8, 2023
In February 2021, Sadak told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon he was incredibly excited about getting this opportunity with the Reds, mentioning how he wrote every team he could think of during the COVID-19 pandemic to see if he could get more work:
“To be honest, I wrote every team in Major League Baseball in the teeth of the pandemic,” Sadak told MLB.com. “I went eight months with no work, no income. I found myself walking or running my neighborhood pretty much on a daily basis just to cleanse my mind and find some form of sanity. I thought it was a great opportunity to try to connect with people. I’ve done that before.”
…After reaching out to clubs—including the Reds—last year, Sadak received no replies. His agent submitted his resume tape to Fox Sports Ohio. The network and the Reds finally responded in January.
“I was floored. It came out of nowhere to some extent. I reached out, [my agent] submitted material as well, but that was months earlier. I was super excited, beyond pumped. It went fairly quickly,” Sadak said. “You realize the odds that are continually terrible to try and make it in an industry like this are getting better.”
Beyond his work with the Reds, Sadak’s game calls have also been broadcast on the networks of ESPN, CBS, Westwood One, Fox, and many other companies. And the 43-year-old announcer is far from new to this. But it is cool to see him doing well with the Reds, and to see him get the chance to call such a historic moment, and do so in a way that resonated with many fans.
[Awful Announcing on Twitter]
