The Greatest Player CC Sabathia Has Ever Seen is Definitely Not Who You're Expecting

Following an extensive battle with overwhelming injuries, longtime star southpaw CC Sabathia decided to call the 2019 season his last in the MLB. The former Cy Young winner was one of the most dominant and durable hurlers of his generation, as over 20 seasons, he compiled 251 wins and 3,093 strikeouts.

Given that experience, you would think the greatest player that Sabathia has ever seen wouldn't be a star that recently broke into the league, right?

Well, think again. Per the retired 39-year-old, Los Angeles Angels do-it-all stud Shohei Ohtani is that player.

On the latest episode of his "R2C2" podcast with ESPN and YES broadcaster Ryan Ruocco, Sabathia said, "I keep saying this, and people always laugh at me when I say this, but he’s the best baseball player I’ve ever seen in my life. Are you kidding me? He can hit the ball 900 feet and throws 99 MPH off the mound. Who else can do that? Nobody else is doing that at the big-league level."

We certainly respect Sabathia's take, even if it feels like it came out of nowhere. Considering the countless superstars that the six-time All-Star has come across in his career -- Mike Trout, Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, Miguel Cabrera, and Ichiro Suzuki, to name a few -- CC picking Ohtani, as good as he is, feels like a shock.

For Sabathia, it came down to the fact that Ohtani can be just as good on the mount as he is with the bat. That versatility puts the 2018 AL Rookie of the Year on a special kind of level.

Sabathia, a former ALCS MVP, is certainly entitled to his opinion, but this is definitely what the kids would call a hot take.