NEW YORK — CC Sabathia is the dearest to the Yankees fans. But just days after deriding the Red Sox, he made an endorsement that crossed the rivalry the Bronx fans love to keep burning.
On September 29, the scoreboard at Yankee Stadium told a brutal story for Boston . The Yankees won 9-0, Cam Schlittler dominated the Red Sox and Ben Rice turned the American League Wild Card Series opener into a one-sided night.
Boston’s young starter took the loss despite keeping the game close through most of his outing. New York scored once against him in the second inning, then erupted only after the rookie was gone.
That distinction has gained new importance in the offseason. Yankees legend Sabathia has delivered one of the clearest endorsements yet of the pitcher Boston could rely upon in future meetings between the AL East rivals.
For the Yankees, the timing is awkward. Their 2026 postseason ended without another pennant, and a promising Red Sox arm has now received lavish praise from a man whose name is inseparable from New York’s last World Series championship.
Sabathia sees something special in Boston rookie
Sabathia praised Boston left-hander Payton Tolle in comments circulated November 7 and reported the following day. The former Yankees ace focused on Tolle’s pitching arsenal, his temperament and the confidence with which he attacks hitters.
The endorsement carried unusual weight because Sabathia was not simply admiring velocity. He singled out how Tolle competes while acknowledging that their personalities on the mound were different.
“I love watching him, and I love his personality. I don’t think I could have pitched the way he does. I was always way more emotional and upset… He’s top of the league as far as stuff goes. I love the way he attacks guys,” Sabathia said.
Sabathia spent the final 11 seasons of his career with the Yankees and helped win the 2009 World Series. His appraisal immediately connects Boston’s rising pitcher to the standard of a former Cy Young Award winner and Hall of Famer.
Payton Tolle’s Yankees start tells a different story than the score
Tolle’s first 2026 postseason start came against the Yankees in the September 29 wild-card opener. He worked 4 2/3 innings, allowed five hits and one earned run, walked one and struck out four. The Yankees won 9-0, but eight of their nine runs came after Tolle left.
Austin Wells opened the scoring with a second-inning RBI single, driving in George Lombard Jr. Tolle departed in the fifth with the Yankees leading 1-0. Rice then homered off the Boston bullpen to make it 2-0.
Rice added an RBI single in the seventh and a grand slam in the eighth. He finished with two home runs and six RBIs. Schlittler earned the win by striking out 10 over 6 1/3 scoreless innings; Tolle was charged with the loss.
The inning-by-inning breakdown matters more than the final margin in judging the rookie. The Yankees’ offense eventually buried Boston, but the starter Sabathia praised had held New York to one run through 14 outs.
The 2026 numbers behind Sabathia’s praise
Tolle completed the regular season 9-6 with a 3.03 ERA in 26 starts. He struck out 171 batters over 148 2/3 innings, issued 40 walks and finished with a 1.10 WHIP, according to MLB’s official statistics.
That works out to approximately 10.35 strikeouts per nine innings. His 171 strikeouts against 40 walks also produced a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.28. Both figures help explain why Sabathia focused on the quality of Tolle’s stuff and his willingness to attack.
Tolle’s 2025 debut had been brief and difficult: a 6.06 ERA in seven appearances, including three starts. The drop to 3.03 across a full 2026 rotation season represented a major improvement rather than a small-sample flash.
Boston also reached October despite a turbulent regular season, making its young left-hander part of a rotation whose growth could carry into the next Yankees-Red Sox chapter.
Yankees champion delivers Boston an offseason talking point
Sabathia’s place in Yankees history makes the comment notable even without the rivalry. He won 251 major league games, earned the 2007 AL Cy Young Award with Cleveland and joined New York before the 2009 championship season.
His public compliment does not change the Yankees’ playoff victory. New York swept Boston in the wild-card series before being eliminated in the Division Series. It does, however, underline why the rivalry’s next generation of pitchers is becoming a story of its own.
Tolle remains under Boston’s control after his first full major league season. The Yankees have already seen both sides of the threat: a hard-to-hit rookie starter and a Red Sox bullpen that could not protect the game once he departed.
With 171 regular-season strikeouts and a forceful endorsement from one of New York’s most respected former pitchers, Tolle enters the offseason as an established part of the Red Sox rotation rather than merely a prospect Yankees fans have heard about.
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