The big man is back! CC Sabathia inked a deal with the New York Yankees which means that more passionate reactions are soon to follow.
CC Sabathia earned an invite back to the Bronx with his stellar performance after many indicated that knee problems would keep him from finishing last season with the New York Yankees.
Well, he finished 14-5 in his 27 starts and the team itself was 19-8 when he started. Plus, he played a huge role in the postseason push for the Baby Bombers.
So the big guy is back for another year! In inking a one-year, $10 million deal, the Yankees brought back a wily veteran with an unparalleled passion for the game. Good for them.
In celebration of Sabathia returning for his 10th season in New York, let’s take a look back at some of his most entertaining shows of emotion on the field. Because let’s be honest: Sabathia’s appeal isn’t just in his pitching ability. It’s also in his reactions on the field.
Bringing the heat
Let’s first take a look back to 2015, a year where the Yankees limped their way into the playoffs, ultimately losing the Wild Card game to the Houston Astros and Dallas Keuchel.
Before all that happened, the Yankees had some pretty great matchups with the Boston Red Sox. One, in particular, was on Aug. 6, 2015, where the game remained knotted at 1-1 until a Jacoby Ellsbury blast in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The real highlight was Sabathia, who pitched six innings of three-hit ball en route to a victory. The best part? His reaction after getting out of a jam by striking out David Ortiz.
The fist pump, the yelling, the electric crowd. Of course, that would get anyone pumped up but Sabathia’s reaction actually gave me chills, even years later.
Brawl won
Brawls are a strange thing. It’s like a trainwreck…you want to look away but you just can’t. And when you can’t look away, it’s likely because CC Sabathia is manning the charge onto the field.
Sabathia has always been a team guy. That’s why when someone threatens or hurts his teammate, he’s the first to step up and call them out. He did that in Toronto on September 26, 2016.
Sadly, what the video doesn’t show is him completely laughing at the attempts of Josh Donaldson to get into his head. But what it does show is his two charges out of the dugout to come to the aid of his teammates.
He’s a loud baseball player and he’ll call out opponents when they’re trying to start something. And, let me tell you, that shuts them right up.
CC Sabathia called the Red Sox "weak" for trying to bunt on him. Said "it shows what they've got over there."
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) September 1, 2017
Weak sauce
Now the fighting takes to the internet. In a postgame presser, CC Sabathia called out the Red Sox (again) for being, well, the Red Sox.
Sabathia pitched a gem of a game in the Yankees’ 6-2 victory on Aug. 31, 2017, but was slowed down by a barrage of bunt attempts by the Red Sox, probably to exploit the knee injury he just returned from on the fourth of July.
So, of course, CC had a reaction to those attempts. And it was indeed hilarious.
But wait…when Jim Rice called him out on it, he had perhaps the most epic response.
CC Sabathia on Jim Rice: "he's right, I'm fat." #Yankees
— Zach Braziller (@NYPost_Brazille) September 1, 2017
Nothing phases this guy. Geez.
CC Sabathia with some words for Josh Reddick after that at bat pic.twitter.com/Gg88BolS5l
— Matt Hammond (@MattHammondShow) October 17, 2017
Reddick got wrecked
CC Sabathia just can’t keep his mouth shut on the mound, especially when another player is disrespectful. Which is why in Game 3 of the 2017 ALCS when Josh Reddick threw his helmet after grounding out, Sabathia ruthlessly razzed him.
Hey, he’s a passionate guy. That’s part of the reason we love having him on the mound. The adrenaline is consistently helping him make big pitches and big plays…it just so happens to also cause him to mouth off.
It may have been NSFW language but at least it was entertaining for the time being. That exchange will go down in the history books as one of the funniest reactions from CC Sabathia.
Now that he’s back, time for more fist-pumping, yelling of profanities and getting the team pumped up. And man, are we all looking forward to that.
