Former Yankees: CC Sabathia is seriously impressed by Shohei Ohtani

After spending 19 seasons in the Major Leagues, including 11 with the New York Yankees, it’s safe to say that CC Sabathia has seen his share of talented players. He called many of them teammates, while many others were his opponents.

According to the big left-hander, there’s hardly a question about who he feels was the best after appearing on Uninterrupted’s R2C2 podcast (which Sabathia co-hosts). He gushed about Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani.

"“I keep saying this and people laugh at me when I say it. He’s the best baseball player I’ve ever seen in my life. Are you kidding me? [He] can hit the ball 900 feet and throw the ball 99 mph off the mound. Who else is doing that? Who else is doing that, bro? There’s nobody else doing that at the big league level.”"

Sabathia is not wrong. Ohtani has talent unlike anyone we’ve seen in the majors before.

The highly-touted 25-year old joined the Angels for the 2018 season and immediately made an impact on the field. He batted .285/.361/.564 in 367 plate appearances with 22 home runs at the plate. He also made 10 starts on the mound, pitching 51.1 innings with a 3.31 ERA and 1.161 WHIP. Collectively it was more than enough to win the AL Rookie of the Year Award (edging out the Yankees Miguel Andujar).

Ohtani underwent Tommy John surgery the following winter. While he didn’t pitch last season, he was still cleared to resume hitting and went .286/.343/.505 in 425 plate appearances, adding another 18 homers.

The expectation was that he’d resume his two-way duties this season before everything was put on hold.

In four games Ohtani has only seen 15 plate appearances against the bombers, with just one hit — a solo home run off of Luis Severino on April 27, 2018. He has yet to pitch against New York, so he and Sabathia never faced off on the mound.

Sabathia retired following the 2019 season, ending a long and successful career that could ultimately put him in Cooperstown someday. He’s loved in New York and well-liked around the sport. He’s long been a fan favorite. It’s no surprise Ohtani has impressed him, but nobody could have expected the big man to have such high praise.