TAMPA — The changeup felt good and a couple of sliders irked him.
Welcome to CC Sabathia’s initial experience of live batting practice, which took place on Field 2 of George M. Steinbrenner Field on Thursday morning.
“This is the first time facing hitters and seeing how your pitches are doing,’’ said Sabathia, who is preparing for his 18th big league season. “I feel good. No problems health-wise and I look forward to getting back out there in a couple of days.”
When Sabathia made the conversion from power pitcher to more of a finesse hurler, the changeup was a big part of the process.