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Boardroom is a sports, media and entertainment brand co-founded by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman and focused on the intersection of sports and entertainment. Boardroom’s flagship media arm features premium video/audio, editorial, daily and weekly newsletters, showcasing how athletes, executives, musicians and creators are moving the business world forward. Boardroom’s ecosystem encompasses B2B events and experiences (such as its renowned NBA and WNBA All-Star events) as well as ticketed conferences such as Game Plan in partnership with CNBC. Our advisory arm serves to consult and connect athletes, brands and executives with our broader network and initiatives.

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Sports October 16, 2025
Boardroom Staff
Boardroom Staff

CC Sabathia Calls Shohei Ohtani the Best Baseball Player He’s Ever Seen

Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images
On the latest episode of Network with Rich Kleiman, Sabathia gives his flowers to the Dodgers superstar, as well as likens the Yankees’ Aaron Judge to Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle.

When talking about the greatest players in MLB today, look no further than the reigning MVP winners in the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani. And while it may take a lot to impress a Hall of Famer like CC Sabathia, the former ace pitcher recognized their greatness nearly instantly.

“People got on me when I talked about Ohtani. I saw him play one inning of one baseball game when I was still playing, and I looked at Luis Severino, I said, ‘This is the best baseball player I’ve seen in my life,'” Sabathia said on the latest episode of Network with Rich Kleiman. “He’s the biggest, he’s the fastest, he’s the strongest, he hits the ball the furthest, he throws the ball the hardest. He is really incredible. They like to compare him to Babe Ruth, but there’s really nobody that you can compare Ohtani to.”

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Many have compared Ohtani to Babe Ruth due to his dual-threat ability to mash homers at the plate and strike out the side on the bump, to which Sabathia says, “There’s really nobody that you can compare Ohtani to.” Ironically, he sees a lot more of the Babe, or even Mickey Mantle, in Judge, who CC played with for two-plus seasons in pinstripes.

“His OPS is 200 points higher than the next guy. The National League batting title winner hit .304, and Judge is hitting .338 with 50 [home runs]. I think you got to look at what he’s doing and with the way he’s hitting, the way he controls the strike zone, and the way he can hit for power, he’s out of this world. He’s got to be one of the best regular-season baseball players of all time,” Sabathia told Kleiman.

Be sure to catch the full conversation between Sabathia and Kleiman at Boardroom’s YouTube channel, as well as Yahoo Sports’ podcast pages on Apple and Spotify.

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Boardroom Staff