Last season during spring training CC Sabathia made it clear that it would be his last year pitching for the New York Yankees as he wanted to retire. He expected to finish out the season, however, during Game 4 of the ALCS against Houston, he left the game in the eighth inning with a shoulder injury when trainers noticed a sharp drop in the velocity of his fastball. It was not the way Sabathia wanted to end his career. He left the mound with the aid of trainer Stevey Donohue and Aaron Boone to the cheers of an adoring Yankee crowd. In later conversations, Sabathia stated that he wanted to stay with the Yankees working in some compacity in the front office.
After several conversations during the offseason regarding what role he would play, the Yankees have announced that CC Sabathia would become a special Advisor to Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman. Sabathia lives just over the river in New Jersey and is expected to be at the Stadium regularly. Cashman has indicated that CC will assist in both the minor and major leagues. No problem there, as Cashman more than welcomes assistance from CC. The clitch in the situation is that the job is reported to also include some on air time at the YES Network.  Specifically, booth work broadcasting some games. Therein lies the problem, Micheal Kay broadcasts almost all home games at the Stadium. Kay and Sabathia do not have the best of relationships. Over the years, Sabathia has not been pleased with some of Kay’s commentary.
The other name that comes into the mix is Ryan Ruocco. Ruocco and Sabathia are good friends. If you recall, Ruocco did the bulk of the booth broadcasting when Kay had throat surgery last year. Sabathia is not expected to call a large number of games.
YES may put Ruocco and Sabathia together in the booth. Considering that Michael Kay is the voice of the Yankees, it would be difficult for Sabathia to avoid being in the booth with Kay at some point in the season. The regular YES booth staff at the Stadium is Kay, Paul O’Neill, David Cone, and Meredith Marakovits on the field and in the clubhouse. John Flaherty also regularly works with Kay. Although Kay does some away games, his commitment to the daily Michael Kay Show limits his away games. Typically Ken Singleton, Ryan Ruocco, John Flaherty, and Bob Lorenz do the bulk of the away games. What role Sabathia will play will determine how much friction is created.
Another interesting wrinkle is that CC has stated that he will not wear a suit to do any broadcasts. He has said that it is “expletive” stupid to wear a suit to a baseball game. He was also made it clear that he wants to wear a sweatsuit. Kay and all of his fellow broadcasters nearly always where suits in the booth. Understandably, the 300 pound Sabathia may not want to wear a suit during the summer at Yankee Stadium. However, this would be a significant break in tradition. On the Radio side, John Sterling also wears a suit. If Sabathia gets his way on both of these matters, it could signal a shakeup at the network.