New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia is entering his 19th season in Major League Baseball. It will also be his last.
The 38-year-old announced his upcoming retirement at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida on Saturday. Sabathia’s family, friends and teammates joined him in support.
The left-hander has a career record of 246-153 with a 3.70 ERA. Sabathia is 14 strikeouts shy of 3,000, a feat only accomplished by 16 major league pitchers ever. He earned the 2007 American League Cy Young Award while with the Cleveland Indians. He won the 2009 World Series in his first season with the Yankees.
Sabathia will also leave his mark as an advocate for investing in youth baseball, especially for inner cities. He has drawn attention to the declining number of African-American players in MLB.
Sabathia remains a highly-effective pitcher, as last season he owned a 3.65 ERA in 29 starts. However, Sabathia underwent an angioplasty to unclog an artery with a stent this past December. The Yankees cleared him to resume baseball activities the following month.
Sabathia has a specific ending to his career in mind. “Right now, I’m just focused on trying to win the championship and have a parade at the end of the year,” he said. “That would be a great way to top this thing off.”
