Sabathia back where it all started
CLEVELAND — Even though he’s not on the roster, CC Sabathia was looming large around Progressive Field.
The 38-year-old Yankees pitcher is playing his final season. He was invited by Major League Baseball to take part in this week’s festivities, and was set to be honored for his contributions on and off the field.
“I’m just having a good time, being a fake All-Star here,” he said, laughing. “When the Yankees asked me to announce my retirement, I was like, ‘Announce what? I’m not Derek Jeter. No one will care.’ But this whole deal has been pretty cool.”
Sabathia began his big league career in Cleveland in 2001 and stayed in town until being traded to Milwaukee during the 2008 season. He still maintains close connections to the city.
The lefthander posted one of the finest seasons of his career with Cleveland when he went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA and 209 strikeouts to win the American League Cy Young Award that season.
Sabathia is 5-4 with a 4.03 ERA this season. Overall, the six-time All-Star has 251 wins and 3,057 strikeouts. “I’m on my way out, I only have three more months, but as a fan, I love offense. There is definitely something different about the baseball, but as I said, I love offense,” he said.
Everyone wants to be like Mike
The question made Astros outfielder George Springer smile. It also left him stumped.
“One thing that Mike Trout does?” Springer said. “I want everything that Mike Trout does.”
The best baseball players in the world gathered Monday for All-Star game media day. The rosters feature participants from three different continents, an assembly of differing philosophies, ideologies and agendas. Among this disparate collection, finding a consensus can be difficult.
Except, of course, when it comes to determining the best player in the sport.
Trout, the 27-year-old, eight-time All-Star outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels, stands alone at the top. Each season offers new contenders for his crown. Astros second baseman Jose Altuve could make a case in 2017. Boston outfielder Mookie Betts and Milwaukee outfielder Christian Yelich challenged Trout in 2018. Yelich and the Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger can make claims this season.
The constant in the equation is Trout. He ended the first half in his usual position atop the sport’s leaderboards, ranked first in the AL in home runs (28), RBIs (67), on-base percentage (.453), slugging percentage (.646) and wins above replacement according to FanGraphs (6.2).
Trout, in the eyes of his fellow players, plays without a visible weakness. That raises a question, which was asked of the other All-Stars on Monday: What one skill of Trout’s do you most envy? The answers revealed both the depths of his peers’ admiration and the breadth of his skills.
“I really have to choose one, out of everything he has?” asked Rays utility man Brandon Lowe.
“I’d take his entire game, if I could,” Brewers infielder Mike Moustakas said.
“All of it,” Astros outfielder Michael Brantley said. “How’s that answer? All of it. He’s a great player. Both sides of the ball, you name it — he can do it. I want all of it.”