CC Sabathia has big ideas for his new role as a special assistant to the Commissioner at MLB. You'll have to stay tuned to see exactly what his plans are for helping to grow the game and bringing the players' perspective to the league office.

"Yeah I do [have ideas]. But I'm not gonna say 'em yet," Sabathia said with a laugh on Thursday. "But I do -- I have a lot of different ideas. And just hearing from players, the ideas that they have, whether it's stuff on the field or off the field. Having that relationship with those players and being able to talk to them and maybe bring some of those ideas here is the goal."

Sabathia, who was named as a special assistant to the Commissioner on Wednesday, helped kick off Opening Day at a special event at MLB headquarters in New York. He talked about his new gig, the upcoming season and more.

"Really just my love for the game [is what attracted me to the job], and how much I love being around it," Sabathia said. "I just thought this would be the perfect job to push our agenda forward, help with player relations in the game and try to make the game better."

He hopes being a former player helps him be a liaison with MLB.

"My relationship with the players is my relationship with the players. I'm bringing that here," Sabathia said. "Me coming to the league office doesn't change my relationship with Manny Machado, or Mookie Betts, or all these different guys. So them knowing that I'm here kind of gives them a voice at the league office."

Since his retirement in 2019, the former Yankees, Brewers and Guardians pitcher has stayed involved in baseball by serving as a special adviser to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, the vice president of The Players Alliance, the co-host of the R2C2 podcast with Ryan Ruocco and a face on MLB Network's Clubhouse Edition broadcasts. Sabathia's role with MLB is the next step.

"Having the chance to still have my Yankees job and do this and really be around the game, it's something that I didn't know I wanted when I was playing," Sabathia said. "But now that I'm done, still having a chance to go in the Yankees’ clubhouse, be around those guys, hang out and still do this stuff [with MLB] too, means a lot to me for sure."

As for some of the changes Major League Baseball has already made, like having the designated hitter in both leagues, Sabathia is a fan.

"I love it," Sabathia said -- even though he also loved to hit himself when he was playing. "I do like to hit. But nobody wants to see me hit. Jam up the bases. I mean it's great for me, but no. I want to see offense, I want to see action. I think [Max] Scherzer last year went 0-for-59 with [28] strikeouts -- and he was trying. You know what I'm saying? So yeah, I like the universal DH."

He also likes the new wearable PitchCom devices that will let pitchers and catchers transmit signs electronically.

"I think guys that work quick, they want their information fast," Sabathia said. "There's not gonna be a lot of shaking off, if you get the pitch right in your ear. And you can have a signal with the catcher, where if you shake once or shake twice or wipe something, then it's the next pitch. Hopefully it speeds up the game and guys feel more comfortable with what they're throwing."

Now that he's at MLB, Sabathia said he hopes to help to give the players even more of a voice in the direction of the game and future changes.

"I've been running my mouth this whole time about player relations," Sabathia said. "And I've been a big one wanting our league to run like the NBA, and how close Adam Silver is with the players, and how big the players' opinion matters in the game. You see the changes that the league makes all the time, and the players are on board with it.

“I've been the biggest advocate for this type of situation, so it was either put up or shut up."