CC Sabathia reveals hilarious ‘made up’ beef with Jackie Bradley Jr. and Red Sox

On the R2C2 podcast, former Yankee CC Sabathia spoke to Mookie Betts.

Ever wonder why CC Sabathia had a “thing” with Jackie Bradley Jr.? Of all the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox rivalry tidbits, how was this even a notable one?

Well, it was, and we were unsure why until Friday. On the R2C2 podcast with Ryan Ruocco and Sabathia, the former Yankees pitcher revealed to their guest, Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts, how it all began.

It’s crazy to think that current manager Aaron Boone played a role in this, but he did. Another thing we would have never guessed.

Even Betts, a former fixture in the Yanks-Sox rivalry, had no idea why it was the way it was. But Sabathia revealed that he “made up the whole beef,” which was apparently nothing to new to him and his trash-talking strategy. CC said he “had to” with Bradley Jr. because he was “cool” with Betts and Chris Young, so he pretty much needed someone else to go after.

And Bradley Jr. was an easy target because back on Opening Day in 2013 when the Yanks hosted the Sox, Sabathia started that game and had a bad outing. Boone, interestingly enough, was calling the game, and after the left-hander walked Bradley Jr. to load the bases, the current Yankees’ manager gave Sabathia fuel for the hatred.

“Oh my god, Jackie Bradley, this is so great. CC’s lost it, Tanaka’s the ace now. Jackie Bradley just proved that,” Sabathia recalled Boone saying (along those lines), and from that point forward the beef was born.

What’s even funnier is that Betts said Bradley Jr. was so confused by Sabathia’s trash talk and vitriol, asking the former MVP why the Yankees pitcher hated him so much, and neither of them had a clue.

And truth be told, Sabathia said he had to play with this kind of edge when his game started to decline, which, coincidentally, came in 2013. After four ace-like seasons in the Bronx, the former Cy Young winner maintained an unsightly 4.33 ERA up until his career ended in 2019.

But Yankees fans loved CC nonetheless, and it’s because he was a presence thanks to his passion every time he stepped on the mound. Apologies to Jackie Bradley Jr. for having to deal with that, because we’re sure it’s very much not fun.

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