Jackie Bradley Jr. is hitless against New York Yankees starter CC Sabathia, and yet, there’s some sort of strange feud between the two of them.
Or is there?
On the surface, it might seem so. Sabathia goes crazy every time he faces the Boston Red Sox outfielder, such as calling Bradley a very bad (re: NSFW) name after striking him out during an at-bat in 2014. But Sabathia also happens to be very intense on the mound, so is it something about Bradley, or is it just CC being CC?
“I don’t know,” Bradley told WEEI.com. “I don’t. I wish I did. I know he’s a competitor, and I’m a competitor as well. Maybe it’s just his way of competing, but I don’t think anything against it. I’m still trying to do my job, make it hard on him, and he’s trying to make it hard on me.
“I’ve noticed it, but I don’t feed into it or give it any attention. That’s something you’ll have to ask him. I don’t have any animosity or anything. He’d be the person to ask if he has something against me.”
Sabathia, for his part, agreed that it was just his own competitiveness, and not Bradley.
“That’s exactly what it is,” Sabathia told WEEI. “I want to beat you. I don’t have nothing against him, no.”
Bradley is 0-for-9 against Sabathia with six strikeouts and three walks, so it would be strange if he was being specifically targeted. But either way, Bradley doesn’t appear fazed by it.
“He’s going to be him,” Bradley said. “I’m going to keep playing ball.”
Thumbnail photo via Adam Hunger/USA TODAY Sports Images
