CC Sabathia Will Be An In-Studio Analyst For ESPN While Pitching For The Yankees in 2019...Wait What?
In an unusual arrangement, New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia will work as an analyst on ESPN TV and radio broadcasts during his final season in Major League Baseball.
Sabathia announced last month that 2019 will be his final season. A former Cy Young Award winner and World Series champion, Sabathia has pitched for the Yankees and the Cleveland Indians, breaking into the majors in 2001.
During the season, Sabathia will appear on SportsCenter, Get Up!, First Take, Golic & Wingo and occasionally Baseball Tonight, with several of those appearances planned to be in-studio. He will also periodically join ESPN Radio New York as a guest host on the Humpty & Canty show, which airs from 10AM to 1PM ET. Sabathia will make his broadcast debut during ESPN’s spring training coverage in late March.
Well this is bizarre, to say the least. While still pitching for the Yankees in 2019, CC Sabathia will have an ESPN gig that has him making 15 in-studio appearances on shows like SportsCenter, Get Up!, and Baseball Tonight. We’ve seen players do this during the postseason when they’re eliminated, but I’m not sure off the top of my head if anyone has done it during the regular season while not being retired. Maybe Brandon Marshall when he was on the Jets, but that’s about it.
I honestly think CC is one of the best personalities in sports and giving him a platform like this is great where he can talk about things other than baseball. His podcast, R2C2 with Ryan Ruocco is fantastic and really let’s you see the real CC in an authentic way. This is really cool for him, I just wish it was somewhere else where he can really let loose and curse, like on his podcast. Something like oh I don’t know, Barstool Sports or HBO where he could a weekly show with some players. I think that would kill. I also wish he waited until he was actually retired to do these shows so he can focus on pitching. I’m trying to win a World Series here for crying out loud and he’s my number five pitcher! Does that make me selfish? Yeah maybe, but I just want to win. He did clarify his priorities.
“As I begin to look toward the future, I’m excited to have this opportunity with ESPN,” he said. “With that said, my singular focus is on winning another World Series championship for Yankees fans and the city of New York.”
After we win number 28 I wouldn’t hate him joining the Sunday Night Baseball booth with A-Rod and replace Mendoza. That would be fire.