Pitch-perfect delivery

Within a few hours, Wang found himself in courtside seats with Sabathia, bumping fists with Dwight Howard. It was a trip nearly every pitcher on the Yankees staff made at some point, as Sabathia used the 90-minute drive from the team complex in Tampa to Orlando to get to know his new teammates.

“Some guys get to a new team and they sit back and wait for people to come to them,’’ right fielder Nick Swisher said yesterday before the Yankees worked out in preparation for tonight’s Game 1 of the American League Championship Series against the Angels. “CC took the initiative and reached out to people. What he did back then paid off, because this team became a tight group.’’

The Yankees were interested mainly in Sabathia’s powerful left arm when they signed him to a seven-year, $161 million contract in December. But they did not discount how his personality could help change the atmosphere in a clubhouse that had become stale.

The travails of the irritable Randy Johnson in New York taught general manager Brian Cashman to carefully weigh the temperament of free agents and trade candidates before loading up pinstriped trucks with bags of money. Sabathia fit the Yankees’ criteria in every way.

“Once he was in the fold, he asked me what he could do,’’ said Cashman. “He was recruiting for us, calling A.J. [Burnett] and Mark [Teixeira]. Everything we had heard about what kind of person he was and we did our homework on, that was true.’’

The performance matched expectations as well. Sabathia was 19-8 with a 3.37 ERA and was fourth in the AL with 230 innings this season. After a rocky first few weeks, he was one of the best pitchers in baseball over the final five months of the season.

Sabathia is still very much a power pitcher, having struck out 197 in his first season as a Yankee. But he now uses a two-seam fastball to induce ground balls, and has developed a changeup that is effective against righthanded batters.

“It’s impressive. Even when he doesn’t have his greatest stuff, he can still win a game for you,’’ said Teixeira, who signed a few weeks after Sabathia. “There are a lot of big-time aces who can throw a no-hitter, but you might get them for five or six runs in the first inning.

“CC’s not like that. He’s going to go out there and battle you even if he doesn’t have his best stuff and give you a quality start.’’

Sabathia’s first postseason start was more of the same, as he allowed one earned run over 6 2/3 innings against the Twins, earning the win in Game 1 of the Division Series. He comes into tonight on eight days of rest. The Yankees’ plan is to have Sabathia pitch three games if the series goes seven games.

“You come here to get a chance to win a championship,’’ said Sabathia, who volunteered to pitch on short rest after Game 1 against Minnesota. “We are one step closer to that.’’

Sabathia arrived in spring training with no plan on how best to fold into his new team. He quickly became friends with Burnett and learned to enjoy the nonstop chatter of Swisher, who had been acquired from the White Sox during the winter.

Not being the only newcomer eased the transition. It’s not easy blending in at 6 feet 7 inches and 290 pounds, but Sabathia was able to.

“It made all the difference for me,’’ Sabathia said. “None of us had ever played in the big market, big media and things like that. So it was a lot of fun being able to come in and have those guys to lean on.’’

Joe Girardi, who had been instructed by Cashman to work on his people skills after a rocky first season as manager, appreciated the difference Sabathia made.

“There seemed to be a closeness there that they developed amongst the pitching staff,’’ said Girardi. “The other thing that I enjoy about CC is he’s the same every day.

“And I don’t mind a pitcher being very quiet on the day he pitches and very focused. It doesn’t really matter. To me, what matters is what works for you that day. And CC is one of those guys that’s relaxed on the day he pitches. I admire that.’’

Rain is forecast for tonight, and Sabathia may have to wait a few hours longer for his next start. But he will not sit alone at his locker and work on a crossword puzzle, the preferred method of Mike Mussina. Or scowl at teammates, as Johnson did. Sabathia will instead take on all comers in Nintendo RBI Baseball, at which he considers himself a master.

“He’s a different kind of person,’’ Burnett said. “CC has this way about him where he doesn’t get rattled, he doesn’t change, he’s always smiling. Then he gets on the field and he’s a killer. He’s perfect for New York. He’s our ace and we’re all following his lead.’’