Former New York Yankees pitcher and first-ballot Hall of Famer CC Sabathia was a key figure at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta this week.
Not only does Sabathia represent the league, he works as a special assistant to Commissioner Rob Manfred, the 44-year-old is also an ambassador for Mastercard, a title sponsor of the All-Star game.
The former American League Cy Young Award winner, who's incredibly selective about which brands he promotes, partnered with Mastercard because "it just feels like family," he said.
"The priceless moments, small businesses, and the different campaigns I’ve ben able to be a part of. It’s hard for me to endorse anything that I’m not passionate about or is just not authentic to me so just right away."
Speaking of family, Sabathia's son, Carsten Sabathia III, looks to follow in his father's footsteps. While he's not a pitcher, Carsten is a first-baseman who transferred to University of Houston after two years at Georgia Tech. The prospect was eligible for the 2025 MLB draft, however, Carsten didn't hear his named called.
Sabathia's son's future remains bright. "He’ll go back to the University of Houston and play one more year and enter the draft again next year and kind of see what happens," the World Series champion said of the 6-foot-4 slugger's next move.
"For him, it’s just getting healthy. When he’s healthy, he plays at a high level, but he hasn’t been the last couple years," Sabathia said, noting how the 21-year-old dealt with a fracture in his hand a "knee thing" that nagged him throughout the spring.
"He’s got a couple of tough breaks, so I think just one more year in college will help him. Go out and play every single day and be able to stack some numbers up."
As for which MLB team he'd love to see his son play for, "I want him to go somewhere where he can develop and develop quickly," Sabathia answered. He named the Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, and Houston Astros as teams that do "a good job with their player development, raising the energy," and preparing prospects for the big leagues.
Sabathia named Milwaukee and Boston as solid options, too. "It doesn’t particularly have to be a place that I played, I just want him to have the best chance possible to be able to thrive," he said.
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