It was basketball, not baseball, that helped Hall of Famer CC Sabathia fit in with the Yankees

Boston Globe

2 days ago

The lefthander purchased courtside seats from the Orlando Magic and arranged to bring a small group of his new teammates to games during the first few weeks of camp.
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He arranged for transportation, dinner, and a night at the game. By the time the season started, it felt like Sabathia had been part of the team for years.
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Was that why the Yankees won 103 games and then their first World Series since 2000? Not directly, but it certainly played a role.
As a Yankees beat writer at the time, I found it interesting to see how Sabathia found ways to bring disparate groups together.
Chien-Ming Wang
, a righthander from Taiwan, didn't speak much English and kept to himself. But he went to a Magic game with Sabathia and they found a way to connect.
In what was
Joe Girardi's
second season as manager, Sabathia's value went beyond the 34 games he started. That will be reflected on Sunday by the faces in the crowd when he makes his speech.
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In addition to fellow Hall of Famers
Derek Jeter
and
Mariano Rivera
, former Yankee teammates
Dellin Betances
,
Andy Pettitte
, and
Nick Swisher
will be in Cooperstown, along with Yankees general manager
Brian Cashman
.
Cleveland pitching coach
Carl Willis
also is expected to be on hand Sunday. As a minor league coach in 1998, Willis taught Sabathia how to better grip certain pitches, and in 2006 taught him a slider that became a go-to pitch for the remainder of his career.
'I wouldn't be here without Carl,' Sabathia said. 'He literally taught me how to be a pitcher.'
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Sabathia retired after the 2019 season and has carved out an active role in the game.
He is one of the leaders of The Players Alliance, which was founded in 2020 to create more opportunities for young Black players.
Sabathia also works with commissioner
Rob Manfred
as a member of the Commissioner's Ambassador Program.
The group includes a number of other prominent former players, including Swisher,
Prince Fielder
,
Ryan Howard
,
Adam Jones
,
Kenny Lofton
,
Jed Lowrie
,
Gary Sheffield
, and
Shane Victorino
.
Ostensibly, they are advising Manfred on issues important to the players as a whole, and some have accompanied the commissioner when he has met with teams during the season.
That relationship could get complicated after the 2026 season if there's a lockout once the collective bargaining agreement expires.
But for now Sabathia feels compelled to stay in the game.
'I have a son who is playing and how we develop players is important to me,' he said. 'I'll work with anybody on improving the game.'
Billy Wagner
also played in New York, spending parts of four seasons with the Mets from 2006-09, before he was traded to the Red Sox.
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Wagner was from rural Virginia and lived on a farm where he raised alpacas while tending to a herd of Black Angus cattle. But he fit right in with the Mets, posting a 2.37 ERA and collecting 101 of his 422 saves.
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Wagner is an interesting Hall of Famer because he received only 10.5 percent of the votes in his first year of eligibility, then dipped slightly to 10.2 percent the second season.
But from 2018-25, Wagner moved up every year, and he finally received 82.5 percent in his final year of eligibility.
He's an example of how the electorate becoming younger and more analytically inclined changed the look of the Hall.
Wagner never led any league in saves, and those 422 saves were only eighth all time. But his 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings and 0.99 WHIP were historically dominant, and opponents hit only .187 against Wagner.
His candidacy was based on rate stats, not counting stats.
Trevor Hoffman
had more saves, more innings, and more games, but Wagner was more dominant.
Ichiro Suzuki
also will be inducted on Sunday, along with the late
Dick Allen
and
Dave Parker
.
Suzuki will be the first Japanese player in the Hall. He had 4,367 hits over 28 seasons playing for the Orix Blue Wave in Japan, then the Mariners, Yankees, and Marlins.
Pete Rose
had a record 4,256 hits, and it's fair to wonder if Suzuki would be the Hit King had he started his career in the majors.
Masanori Murakami
, the first Japanese player to appear in the majors (with the Giants in 1964) is scheduled to attend the ceremony.
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Mike Easler
will be Cooperstown to honor Parker, his friend and former Pirates teammate.
'The Hit Man' played with Parker from 1979-83. Easler later played for the Red Sox (1984-85), and was their hitting coach in 1993. That was the year
Mo Vaughn
had his breakout season.
The five-man class could be the largest one for a few years.
The most notable players being added to the BBWAA ballot next year are
Ryan Braun
,
Edwin Encarnacion
, and
Cole Hamels
.
That should be good news for
Carlos Beltrán
, who reached 70.3 percent in January.
Andruw Jones
(66.2 percent) also could make the leap. Beyond that, it's thin among holdovers.
Jon Lester
and
Buster Posey
are the top newcomers for 2027, before
Yadier Molina
and
Albert Pujols
debut in 2028.
Ichiro Suzuki was elected to the Hall of Fame with 99.7 percent of the vote — one vote shy of a unanimous selection.
Hans Pennink/Associated Press
CLEAN IT UP
Red Sox giving away
too many runs
That the Red Sox are a team opponents feel they can take advantage of is something manager
Alex Cora
and the coaching staff need to fix before next season.
Bryce Harper
had attempted one stolen base in his previous 23 games before he tried to steal home against the Sox this past Tuesday in Philadelphia.
He had the base stolen but would have scored regardless because
Carlos Narváez
was called for catcher's interference.
The Sox went into the weekend with the most errors in baseball with 82. The Yankees and Blue Jays had 30 fewer.
Only the Rockies had allowed more unearned runs (71) than the Sox (64). The Athletics were third with 49.
The Sox also have allowed the fifth-most stolen bases (88) despite also leading the league with 30 runners caught stealing.
The strategy against the Red Sox is pretty clear: Get them to throw the ball around.
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It's too late to fix it for this season given the nature of the roster and the team's willingness to use players out of position to gain an edge offensively.
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A few other observations on the Red Sox:
⋅ Could there be some friction between ownership and
Craig Breslow
at the trade deadline?
I'm told ownership sees making the postseason as imperative. Otherwise, it's a four-year drought and one berth in the last seven years.
It's hard to claim you're a championship-driven organization with one playoff appearance in seven years.
The Sox are a flawed team that won't be fixed by adding a platoon first baseman and a reliever or two who could pitch in the seventh inning.
Breslow has to deliver a difference-maker, and that won't be easy given how many teams are contending.
At some point the Sox need to balance their roster and trade one of the outfielders. But they would likely get more for
Wilyer Abreu
or
Jarren Duran
in December than they could in July.
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⋅
Kristian Campbell
hit .207 with a .700 OPS in his first 25 games with Triple A Worcester after being demoted in June. He struck out 35 times in 109 plate appearances. That's a higher rate (32.1 percent) than he had in the majors (27.3 percent).
Campbell also has played more first base (13 starts) than second base (seven starts). That he doesn't seem to have a defensive position is an issue.
Campbell is only 23, far too young to question what kind of player he will become. But he must feel good about having agreed to that eight-year, $60 million extension in April.
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⋅
Abraham Toro
went into the weekend with a .598 OPS in July. He has given the Sox more than they ever could have hoped, but you wonder if this goes the way of
Dominic Smith
and Toro loses his spot if the Sox obtain a first baseman.
⋅ The Sox promoted 21-year-old infielder
D'Angelo Ortiz
to Low A Salem on Wednesday. He hit .273 with a .689 OPS in 51 games in the Florida Complex League.
Unlike his Hall of Fame father,
David Ortiz
, D'Angelo is a table-setter who can steal a base.
Kristian Campbell hit .207 with a .700 OPS in his first 25 games with Triple A Worcester after being demoted in June.
Alex Speier
ETC.
Hill returns as Bard
says goodbye
That
Daniel Bard
retired in the same week
Rich Hill
They were Red Sox teammates from 2010-12, both with connections to Boston. Hill grew up in Milton, while Bard is the grandson of
Fran O'Brien
, who coached baseball at MIT and basketball at Stonehill.
O'Brien was in the stands when Bard pitched his first game at Fenway Park in 2009.
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Along with being good pitchers — in much different ways — Bard and Hill are first-class people who proved to be excellent examples of perseverance.
Bard, 40, was one of the best relievers in baseball until his career went awry because of the yips starting late in the 2011 season. It got worse when the Sox tried to make him a starter in 2012.
Bard was out of the majors by 2014 and became a coach. He overcame his inability to throw strikes and returned to the mound in 2020 with the Rockies.
He had four solid seasons in Colorado and pitched in the minors for Seattle this season before deciding to retire.
'I couldn't be more appreciative for what baseball has done for me and my family,' Bard wrote on Instagram. 'I found the fun and beauty in the game again. I've made countless friends around the country.'
Hill, 45, appeared in only four major league games last season but pitched for Team USA in the fall and then made a comeback with the Royals when he agreed to a minor league contract in May.
He faced the Cubs on Tuesday and allowed one earned run over five innings. One of his teammates was 22-year-old
Jac Caglianone
. He was born in 2003, a year after Hill was drafted by the Cubs.
Hill became the oldest player in Royals history, surpassing
Gaylord Perry
. He also was the oldest pitcher to appear in a major league game since
Jamie Moyer
in 2012.
Hill is the 18th pitcher in history to start at game at 45, the sixth this century. That group includes the late
Tim Wakefield
, who made nine starts after he turned 45 in 2002.
'It's easy to say that you love it, but when you know you have more to give, it's tough to walk away,' Hill told reporters on Tuesday.
'I didn't want to ask, 'What if.' That was really the big thing this season, knowing there was something left and knowing that I could contribute.'
Hill, 45, faced the Cubs on Tuesday and allowed one earned run over five innings.
Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press
Extra bases
Rafael Devers
played first base for the Giants on Tuesday. It was his first game in the field this season and passed uneventfully. 'It keeps me active. It keeps my head out of just thinking about the next at-bat,' Devers said through an interpreter. 'I'm the kind of player that likes to be active, likes to be on the field. I'd rather be on the field than be in the cage hitting all the time and just thinking about the next at-bat.' That's quite a change from his attitude in early May, when he told the Red Sox he didn't want to consider playing the field again until 2026. That led to his being traded on June 15. Giants president of baseball operations
Buster Posey
told the San Francisco Chronicle that it was a 'morale boost' to see Devers at first. 'There are a lot of added benefits,' Posey said. Devers was not a particularly good third baseman, but that was often more an issue with his arm, not his fielding. He could turn out to be pretty good at first base. Devers returned to DH on Wednesday and homered twice in a 9-3 victory at Atlanta. Guess all that thinking about his next at-bat wasn't too taxing …
Justin Verlander
went 17 starts and 297 days between victories before beating the Braves on Wednesday with five shutout innings. It was the 263rd victory of his career. Verlander had 257 wins through 2023 and seemed to have a shot at being only the 32nd pitcher with 275. He is 6-14 with a 5.10 ERA in 34 starts since … Cheers to
Nick Ahmed
, who announced his retirement after 15 years in pro ball. The East Longmeadow native was a second-round pick of the Braves out of UConn in 2011 and was in the majors with the Diamondbacks in 2014. He earned two Gold Gloves, reached 10 years of service time in 2024, and earned more than $40 million in his career. That's impressive coming out of New England … Lowell's LeLacheur Park lost its main tenant when MLB reduced the size of the minor leagues and the New York/Penn League was disbanded in 2021. So it's good news that Lowell will be getting a team in The Futures League starting in 2026. The formal announcement will come on Wednesday. The New England-based summer league has sent a number of players on to the major leagues … Keep an eye on
Andrew Middleton
. The lefthander from Canton via Dexter Southfield bounced from UMass to West Virginia in the transfer portal. He appeared in only four games last season because of an injury but threw 11⅔ scoreless innings, allowing one hit while striking out 29. The bad news? He also walked 11. At 6 feet 2 inches, 225 pounds, Middleton has hit a modest 92 miles per hour with his fastball but has nearly 2 feet of vertical break … Happy birthday on Monday to
Walker Buehler
, who is 31. The righthander joined the Red Sox on a one-year, $21.05 million contract in December after spending 10 years in the Dodgers organization. He's lined up to face his former team on Sunday afternoon. Buehler's earned run average rose to 6.03 on June 29, but he has pitched much better (18 innings, six earned) in three starts since and remained in the rotation. Buehler feels like a one-and-done player for the Sox. The Sox needed rotation help and he needed a spot to try and rebuild his value after going 1-6 with a 5.38 ERA in 16 starts last season. If Buehler pitches well the rest of the year, he'll go back to free agency. Either way, it doesn't seem likely he returns.
Peter Abraham can be reached at