ESPN Hires CC Sabathia As Analyst While He’s Still Pitching For Yankees In 2019

CC Sabathia has been no stranger to change throughout his MLB career. He’s gone from the Cleveland Indians to the Milwaukee Brewers to the New York Yankees, kicked a drinking problem and gave up two boxes of Cap’N Crunch daily breakfast. But his next move might be his most innovative one yet.

Yankees’ CC Sabathia To Join ESPN

Sabathia had announced on February 16 that the 2019 season would officially be his last. However, during that season, Sabathia will work for ESPN as an analyst on top of pitching for the Yankees. The former Cy Young winner will debut later this month on programs such as “SportsCenter,” “First Take” and “Baseball Tonight.”

“We’re excited to work with CC, especially as part of this unique arrangement during the final year of his storied career,” ESPN vice president of production Dave Roberts said in a statement. “He has proven to be highly knowledgeable, candid and perceptive about the sport of baseball, as well as an avid sports fan in general. That will translate well for fans across ESPN platforms.”

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ESPN has made former players a staple of their television network. More often than not, those players are retired or not in the middle of an active season. But that doesn’t mean TV is all their analysts do. A handful will also assist MLB clubs in various roles.

Alex Rodriguez will work as an advisor for the Yankees while also being an analyst on “Sunday Night Baseball.” The Mets hired ESPN analyst Jessica Mendoza as an adviser for their baseball operations on Tuesday.

Sabathia will wrap up a 19-year big league career this season. He’s currently the active leader in innings pitched and in strikeouts, as well as being the all-time American League leader in strikeouts by a lefty. After a slump in the middle of his Yankees tenure, Sabathia has rejuvenated himself and serves as a strong team leader.