CC Sabathia spent a lot of time with Derek Jeter and learned that the Hall of Fame shortstop was pretty superstitious — or, in Sabathia’s words, “super, super superstitious.”
Asked to share his favorite Jeter story on “6-1-1,” a new MLB.com podcast hosted by former Phillies stars Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins, Sabathia delivered a masterful answer.
Sabathia, who played for the Yankees from 2009 until the end of his illustrious career in 2019, recalled a time when the team was in Kansas City to face the Royals. The left-handed pitcher invited Jeter to lunch at Peachtree Cafeteria, a local, family-owned restaurant that serves staples like fried chicken, catfish, greens and mac and cheese.
“This is paradise on earth,” Sabathia said. “It’s the best soul food I’ve ever had in my life.”
And as you might expect, this wasn’t the kind of light, healthy pregame meal that’s going to make playing baseball easier: After Jeter’s customary stop at Starbucks and a load of heavy food at Peachtree, Sabathia and Jeter fell asleep on a couch in the visitors’ clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium.
To Sabathia’s surprise, Jeter had five hits.
“His stomach hurt,” Sabathia recalled. “He could barely run the bases.”
Then the next day, Jeter would return, eat the same food, and hope to get five more hits. Listen to the podcast to hear Sabathia explain how it all worked out.
The 6-1-1 Podcast is available on MLB.com, MLB.TV, all podcast platforms and YouTube.
