CC Sabathia endorses Yankees' roster continuity ahead of Giants home opener
Former New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia expressed confidence in the team's approach of retaining much of its core roster from the previous season's playoff team. Speaking to Fox News Digital, the retired left-hander noted the importance of health among key pitchers.
"I think it's fine. I think having a chance to get Gerrit Cole back (from Tommy John surgery), have Carlos Rodon healthy for a season, getting Clarke Schmidt back (from TJ) would be huge," Sabathia said. "I think with the amount of pitching that they have, I think that's what they're counting on, that their pitching is going to be good, and if the lineup can do just about what they did last year, I think they'll be in a good spot."
Sabathia, who pitched for the Yankees from 2009 to 2019 and won a World Series title with the club in 2009, will call the Yankees' season-opening visit to the San Francisco Giants from the Oracle Park broadcast booth as a color commentator on Netflix.[1] The game marks the Giants' home opener, one of four regular-season contests Netflix will exclusively stream in 2026.[1]
A Vallejo, California native who attended Giants games at the former Candlestick Park as a child, Sabathia described the assignment as a "full-circle moment."
"Having a chance to go back home for a Giants opening day, which is something that I did with my family a lot, my dad and my uncle," Sabathia said. "We would, on a Monday, I remember numerous times cutting school and going to Giants opening day at Candlestick Park. So to be able to now come full circle and be calling the game on opening day for my former team at home is really cool."
Sabathia also defended Yankees captain Aaron Judge amid ongoing questions about his postseason performance. Judge has faced criticism for clutch moments despite strong regular-season numbers.
"I think he's in the same spot Alex [Rodriguez] was in when I got here. To me, he's already proven himself in October, but people say he hasn't. But until he goes out and has the Aaron Judge-type month in October, people are going to say he's not clutch. That year that we won in '09, A-Rod hit some huge homers. He had a huge October, and people got off his back. So I think that's what it's going to take," Sabathia said.
Sabathia finished his 19-year MLB career with 251 wins and a 3.74 ERA, primarily with the Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers and Yankees.[2]
Sources
- MLB.com
MLB, Netflix announce multi-year agreement for regular-season games
November 14, 2024
https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-netflix-announce-multi-year-agreement-for-regular-season-games - Baseball-Reference.com
C. C. Sabathia Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More
Accessed October 2024
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sabathc01.shtml
