New York Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia has entered alcohol rehab today and will miss the entire playoffs for the Yankees, however long it lasts. This season Sabathia went 6-10 with a 4.75 ERA. That was his worst record of his career when pitching at least 150 innings. He pitched in 29 games this year and started all of those games. He will be a free agent after next season if he doesn’t meet the terms for the vesting option. He is due to get paid $25 million next season and his vesting option for 2017 is also $25 million.
CC Sabathia had been pitching much better since the beginning of August. In the month of August he had a 3.80 ERA. CC Sabathia pitched well in 5 innings of work last Thursday as the clinched the wild card and their 10,000th win. This comes on eve of the Yankees AL Wild Card Game against the Houston Astros when they send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound. Earlier in the season CC Sabathia was restrained outside a Toronto nightclub after a Yankees-Blue Jays series.
The 6’7, 285 pound southpaw was signed by the Yankees prior to the 2009 season to an 8 year deal. In the first year of his deal he went 19-8 3.37 ERA, helping the Yankees win the World Series that year. CC Sabathia has fallen off in recent years combing for a 23-27 record in the last 3 seasons. Last season CC Sabathia had many injury troubles only going 3-4 with a 5.28 ERA.
Sabathia talked about the decision to enter rehab saying, "Today I am checking myself into an alcohol rehabilitation center to receive the professional care and assistance needed to treat my disease. I love baseball and I love my teammates like brothers, and I am also fully aware that I am leaving at a time when we should all be coming together for one last push toward the World Series. It hurts me deeply to do this now, but I owe it to myself and to my family to get myself right. I want to take control of my disease, and I want to be a better man, father and player. As difficult as this decision is to share publicly, I don't want to run and hide. But for now please respect my family's need for privacy as we work through this challenge together. Being an adult means being accountable. Being a baseball player means that others look up to you. I want my kids -- and others who may have become fans of mine over the years -- to know that I am not too big of a man to ask for help, I want to hold my head up high, have a full heart and be the type of person again that I can be proud of. And that's exactly what I am going to do."
