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TAMPA \u2014 CC Sabathia is getting started on a post-baseball career before he is done playing.<\/p>\n
Sabathia plans to retire following this season<\/a>, his 19th in the big leagues and 11th with the Yankees. He has signed on with ESPN to do 15 appearances so far on a variety of shows \u2014 including \u201cSportsCenter,\u201d \u201cGet Up,\u201d \u201cFirst Take,\u201d \u201cGolic and Wingo\u201d and occasionally \u201cBaseball Tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n It isn\u2019t every day that an active player moves into another field of work, but Sabathia has been doing the podcast \u201cUninterrupted\u201d with Ryan Ruocco for two years during the season.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the days I am not pitching I am up early, so why not be in the studio doing what I like doing, talking about sports?\u2019\u2019 Sabathia said of getting to the Manhattan studio.<\/p>\n Because he is under contract with the Yankees, Sabathia was asked if he needed the club\u2019s blessing for the second job.<\/p>\n \u201cI never asked,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n One thing that appeals to Sabathia, a big fan of other sports, is that he won\u2019t be limited to discussing baseball.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to make sure I am not talking about [just] baseball,\u2019\u2019 Sabathia said. \u201cI watch some of the other sports and I am a fan of the other sports, [so] I think it should be fun.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Sabathia, who had right knee surgery after last season and, in December, a stent inserted into a heart artery that was blocked, is slated for a bullpen session Wednesday then another in the next couple of days.<\/p>\n \u201cThen we go from there, just building up the pitches in the bullpen enough to be able to face hitters. Once I face hitters in [batting practice] or a sim[ulated] game, it will go pretty quick from there,\u2019\u2019 said Sabathia, who didn\u2019t have an exact date for facing hitters, but mentioned \u201cin the next couple of weeks.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Sabathia said \u201ceverything is feeling good\u2019\u2019 and added he believes he has enough time to be ready when his season-opening five-game suspension<\/a> \u2014 for throwing at Tampa Bay\u2019s Jesus Sucre last September \u2014 ends.<\/p>\n Whenever Sabathia\u2019s season begins, he will be four wins shy of 250 and four strikeouts away from 3,000 for his career. Every pitcher who has 250 wins and 3,000 whiffs \u2014 with the exception of Roger Clemens, who remains on the ballot \u2014 has made it to the Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n