Yankees Editorial: Why CC Sabathia Is Still The Team’s Leader
New York Yankees Pitcher CC Sabathia is no stranger to injury, but this off-season he had to carry the weight of that and loss of velocity. This could be considered one of the most hectic off-seasons of his career. With all the adversity and doubt from fans surrounding him, he’s been handling everything like a leader should.
Not only was CC healing his injured knee this winter, but with the lack of velocity shown last year, also trying to find a way to get it back at the same time. It’s clear relying on his pitch movement wasn’t going to be enough, and how could it be? He’s always been known as a huge power guy, blowing pitches by batters with ease. With that lost weight came lost power, which led to struggles over the last couple of years. Now CC is back to the weight he was most comfortable with in the past and is showing it.
His fastball speed is matching the hot Florida temperature, in comparison to it barely reaching 90 last season. In addition to this, his knee held up just fine it seemed this spring. Even if the numbers weren’t the nicest on paper, he still feels confident heading into the season. CC is healthy, stronger, and determined. He’s everything you want a clubhouse to look up to, and that has been happening this spring. Multiple guys whether they be veteran, newer, or younger players can find CC as some help to them. It doesn’t just have to be pitching advice, the mental strength a leader has must out weigh his physical strength. That shows how much mental toughness CC has to have.
CC is known as a friendly guy throughout the league, very easy to get along with, and humble as they come. The knowledge he can give to any player is that of Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, or Andy Pettitte, the list goes on and on. Some question how CC can be such a leader on the team even if he isn’t the number one starter anymore, but Pettitte was in that same boat. Did anyone in their right mind ever question his leadership?
Even if Masahiro Tanaka is the new number one in the rotation, CC is still the anchor of not only the pitchers, but the team in general. He’s been through it all just about, so more than likely if a player needs advice CC is the guy. The 2015 New York Yankees are full of players wanting to make names for themselves, and players trying to recreate their names. CC has been on the Yankees long enough to know the true Yankees way, with every aspect of baseball. That advice can take anyone with a fresh start this year a long way, and more than some would think.
CC Sabathia has came up in his career, met expectations, continued dominance, fell off, and now is looking for a rejuvenation. He is wanting to not only be a leader of the team, but the Yankees leading ace as well. The Yankees begin the new season tomorrow, CC begins a new era of his career, with different expectations for himself, and the confidence to exceed them.
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