Major League Baseball announced on Wednesday that former New York Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia has been named a special assistant to commissioner Rob Manfred. Sabathia's role, created specifically for him, will "address areas important to the future of the sport, including player relations, diversity, equity, inclusion, social responsibility, youth participation, and broadcasting," per the league's press release.
"We are excited to have CC Sabathia join the Commissioner's Office to work on some of our most important initiatives," Manfred said as part of the statement. "We welcome CC's positive energy, strong character, creative mind, and civic-minded approach in building on our efforts to strengthen the game, diversify the sport, and give back to the community. CC has a powerful voice in Baseball and we value the perspective he will bring to our office."
Sabathia, 41 years old, enjoyed a big-league career that spanned parts of 19 seasons. He spent the final 11 of those seasons with the Yankees. Overall, he accumulated a 3.74 ERA (116 ERA+) and a 2.81 strikeout-to-walk ratio in more than 3,500 innings. His total contributions were worth an estimated 62.5 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference's calculations.
Sabathia, for his part, issued the following comments: "I'm looking forward to sharing my viewpoint as a former Major League player with the Commissioner's Office. I want to be able to continue to give back to the game that I love so much. This new role gives me the opportunity to continue the work I'm passionate about, be an advocate for players and be able to contribute to the decision-making process of the league office after 19 years on the field. I can't wait to get started."
MLB's release notes that Sabathia joins the following group of players working in the commissioner's office: Raúl Ibañez, Billy Bean, Rajai Davis, Gregor Blanco, Joe Martinez, and Dan Otero, as well as Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. (Special Assistant to the Commissioner) and Cal Ripken Jr. (Special Advisor to the Commissioner).
