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Yankees: Gerrit Cole roasts CC Sabathia over first pitch on R2C2 podcast

Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Yanks Go Yard

Former New York Yankee CC Sabathia poses for a photograph with Gerrit Cole #45 after throwing out the ceremonial first pitch before the Yankees home opener against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium on July 31, 2020 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox 5-1. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole roasted CC Sabathia REAL good over his first pitch.

Gerrit Cole has taken the mantle of “Yankees Ace” seamlessly from CC Sabathia, holding himself to a higher standard on a daily basis.

So it was only natural that he would take Sabathia to task for his subpar first pitch the very first chance he got some public face time with the big man.

Appearing on CC and Ryan Ruocco’s R2C2 podcast on the Ringer network, Cole opened the proceedings by complimenting his host on how lean and mean he looks these days, buttering him up just to deliver the fatal blow.

“I mean, he looks great. Really, he does. … He needs to play a little more catch, but he looks great,” Cole quipped, sending the hosts into stitches, and putting a smirk on his own face.

Of course, CC took it like a champ.

“If he didn’t scoop that, they’re playing that s**t on ESPN,” Sabathia retorted, through laughter.  That’s, like, a reel.”

For those who need a refresher, here’s the first pitch in question. It wasn’t Sabathia’s best effort (no comeback to see here), but at least there weren’t any paying customers around to see it.

See, that’s why you attempt an empty-stadium first pitch for your glorious return to a big league mound after shoulder surgery. When Sabathia’s honored with his own ceremony and jersey retirement in the not-so-distant future, he’ll be more prepared.

At least, he’d better be.

Cole and Sabathia (and Ruocco, likely as the play-by-play man!) will be essential parts of the next several decades of Yankees baseball, and they’re already as thick as thieves. Turns out, the rumors that Big C played a large role in Cole’s recruitment to the Bronx must have been true. Though they never wore the pinstripes together, it already feels like the two men are in the same family.

One’s always there with a scoop when the other needs it. It’s poetry.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard for 6 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast thrice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for 10 years. He was also a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.