CC Sabathia
(Photo via HBO)

Future Hall of Famer and New York Yankees legend CC Sabathia recently sat down for a brief chat with ESNY.

Now that he’s no longer taking the mound for the New York Yankees, CC Sabathia has shifted to life off the field.

For the big lefty, retirement means a multitude of things. Some days, he’s in dad mode and watching his son’s young baseball career blossom. Once a week, you’ll hear him yak it up on his podcast, R2C2. Oftentimes, he and co-host Ryan Ruocco will discuss their common interests of sports, Star Wars, and hip-hop.

And Sabathia certainly knows music, having warmed up to Notorious B.I.G.’s “Big Poppa” for years. He recently teamed up with Pepsi Zero Sugar for their “What’s Your Walk-Up?” campaign, in which fans can get on Instagram and create their own walk-ups as if they were MLB players themselves.

CC Sabathia took a short time to sit down with ESNY and offer his thoughts on staying in shape, family, and a little bit of everything else.

 

Josh Benjamin: You’ve really gotten in great shape since retiring from playing, but giving up soda is always tough. Pepsi Zero Sugar must make that so much easier, right?

CC Sabathia: I think it’s important to enjoy everything in moderation. The Pepsi brand definitely makes it easy by having multiple options, including Pepsi Zero Sugar which is a choice I personally get to enjoy without having to sacrifice taste.

 

JB: Your son Carsten, or Lil’ C as he’s affectionately known, is really coming into his own as a player. What has it been like for you and your wife Amber to sit and watch him mature as a both a young man and a budding athlete?

CCS: I’ve really enjoyed watching him grow in the game. He was blessed to grow up in a big-league stadium, which has made his baseball IQ through the roof.

 

JB: You’re a huge Star Wars fan. Are you excited for all of the new content coming from that universe?

CCS: Yes, my podcast R2C2 was named because of the huge Star Wars fans Ryan and I are. We cant wait to discuss on the pod.

 

JB: Mental health has become a big part of your platform in the last year. Do you see yourself becoming a mentor of that type to younger professional players in the future?

CCS: Absolutely, It has become my passion to be a mentor in the game for multiple reasons, mental health being one of them.

Josh Benjamin has been a staff writer at ESNY since 2018. He has had opinions about everything, especially the Yankees and Knicks. He co-hosts the “Bleacher Creatures” podcast and is always looking for new pieces of sports history to uncover, usually with a Yankee Tavern chicken parm sub in hand.