Still, I remember when I was younger – and you were younger – and CC Sabathia was younger. The year was 2001, and Sabthia was 20 years old. Pause a moment and think back to what you were doing in 2001.
Sabthia was doing what he was doing until last night, pitching in the big leagues. That’s what is amazing about the game of baseball, it bridges the gaps of time for so long; seemingly it can seem like yesterday in some regards.
Now, it’s evident that CC Sabathia has thrown his final pitch not only as a New York Yankee, but as a big leaguer. Here’s the emotional farewell that took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx in game four of the ALCS on Thursday night. Unimportant was that the Yankees suffered a crushing defeat to fall down three games to one to Houston – or at least – that became the footnote after this happened.
CC Sabathia exits for likely the last time of his career 💔
(via @MLBONFOX) pic.twitter.com/iiVGksPg7q
— SI MLB (@si_mlb) October 18, 2019
After seeing Sabathia limp off the mound with tears in his eyes, in a moment many will remember forever; his teammates had great things to say about him. Quotes like this one from teammate Aaron Hicks resonate with immense respect.
“It’s tough man, he’s a great person, a great player,” outfielder Aaron Hicks said. “He’s gonna be a Hall of Famer. To see a guy like that go out like that is, is not the way you want to see it. He means a lot to this team, a lot to his organization, and for him to go out like that, it’s not something you want.”
Indeed, Sabathia has an excellent shot at Cooperstown. However, that’s off in the distance. With a career that saw a 251-161 win/loss record, 3577.1 innings pitched, and 3,093 strikeouts; you wonder how many more hurlers will ever reach those numbers.
Longevity could be passing us by in an era of record contracts in baseball. Notably and in this way, Sabathia was a dinosaur in terms of being a throwback to a different era. While he signed some huge contracts during his career – including when he signed with the Yankees – he was part of baseball across several eras.
Any solid baseball follower has spent many an afternoon with Sabathia on the mound, and now that’s over. You never could have drawn up this ending, which is why we watch sports. Sometimes the drama and tears it brings are unpredictable and something a Hollywood script couldn’t produce.
Finally, we will miss Sabathia as part of the MLB fraternity. He’s been a solid man and player through the last two decades.
