Pirates draft Troy Polamalu's cousin in 7th round

Tim Benz
Wednesday, June 5, 2019 6:04 a.m. | Wednesday, June 5, 2019 6:04 a.m.

Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu (43) tackles Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson (85) in an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

We haven’t seen Troy Polamalu at Heinz Field in quite some time. But maybe he’ll be at PNC Park soon.

To watch his cousin.

The Steelers legend has a second cousin named Blake Sabol, who’s a standout baseball player at Southern Cal. And he just got drafted by the Pirates.

Sabol, a catcher, was selected in the seventh round. He is bigger than his more-famous cousin, at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds.

Polamalu was about 10 pounds lighter and 6 inches shorter.

Sabol hit .268 (62 for 231) with eight doubles, three triples, three home runs and 22 RBIs in 55 games a junior at USC, which is also where Polamalu played his college football.

And if you’ve ever seen Polamalu swing a bat, he had skills in that sport too.

Maybe not this good.

Take a look at Blake Sabol's home run from the bottom of the fifth inning!#FightOn pic.twitter.com/v2aowatE4D

— USC Baseball (@USC_Baseball) May 18, 2019

But good. I saw Polamalu put on a few hitting clinics on the baseball field at Saint Vincent College after hours at Steelers training camp.

It looks like Sabol needs to start growing the hair out from behind his catcher’s helmet if he wants to look like his cousin in Black and Gold, though.

Or he may take his game to the outfield. He’s listed as a right fielder. His brother, Stefan, was an outfielder in the Mets system for four years.

Here are a few more highlights.

Blake Sabol (@USC_Baseball) extends the advantage. pic.twitter.com/rwr0zIVA4Z

— Chatham Anglers (@ChathamAnglers) August 6, 2018

B6 | BLAKE SABOL WITH THE #YARDWORK! Trojans lead 6-0! #FightOn pic.twitter.com/HLX8JB5mhI

— USC Baseball (@USC_Baseball) May 20, 2018

ON THE FIRST PITCH OF THE GAME THOUGH.

Blake Sabol has no chill. He puts @USC_Baseball up 1-0 in the top of the first.

Watch #Pac12BSB live on Pac-12 Now: https://t.co/xEsB1NNkK7 pic.twitter.com/lbPjeB7WI5

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 10, 2019

Sabol also hit .340 with seven home runs in 37 games in the Cape Cod league with the Chatham Anglers in 2018.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.