Carsten Charles "CC" Sabathia (born July 21, 1980 in Vallejo, California) is an American Major League Baseball starting pitcher who is currently a free agent. It has been reported that Sabathia has reached a tentative seven year, $160 million deal with the New York Yankees.
Sabathia played the first seven plus seasons of his career with the Cleveland Indians where he won the 2007 AL Cy Young Award.
High school career
Sabathia attended Vallejo High School, where he lettered in baseball, basketball, and football. In baseball, he compiled a mark of 6–0 with an 0.77 ERA (46.2 IP, 14 H, 82 K) during his senior season.
Coming out of the draft he was the top high school prospect in Northern California according to Baseball America.
In football, he was an all-conference tight end. He received scholarship offers to play college football, including one from USC, and actually signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Hawaiʻi.
Professional career
Cleveland Indians
Early career
Sabathia was drafted in the first round (20th overall) by the Indians in the 1998 MLB Draft.
Tazawa Junichi 田澤純一 9.1
C.C. Sabathia Correspondent On Jim Rome Is Burning
He signed for a $1.3 million bonus.
In 2000, he was selected for the 28-man United States Olympic Team roster. He appeared in one pre-Olympic tournament game in Sydney, Australia, but was not on the official 24-man, Gold Medal-winning roster because he was called up by the Cleveland Indians.
In 2001, he was the youngest player in the Major Leagues.
As such, he was the first player born in the 1980s to make his major league debut when he made his first appearance on April 8. Sabathia led the league in hits per 9 innings pitched (7.44), was third in the league in win-loss percentage (17–5, .773), fourth in strikeouts per 9 innings pitched (8.53), sixth in wins, and seventh in strikeouts (171).
He finished second in the AL voting for Rookie of the Year, behind only Ichiro Suzuki. For his performance, Sabathia was rewarded with a four-year contract, with a club option for 2006, on February 11, 2002.
Yankees Offer CC Sabathia Record Deal!!
Cc Sabathia At PETCO
In the 2002 season, he was tenth in the AL in strikeouts, with 149.
2003–04
In 2003, he had the tenth-best ERA in the AL (3.60). He was also named to the American League All-Star team for the first time, with a repeat appearance in 2004.
2005-06
In 2005, he was fourth in the AL in strikeouts/9 IP (7.37), seventh in strikeouts (161) and eighth in wins (15).
This marked his fifth straight season of double digit wins to open a career. He also hit his first career home run as a batter in interleague play off of Elizardo Ramirez in May.
His strong five years with the Indians led the club to pick up his option for 2006. He was also named to the American League All-Star team for the third time.
CC Sabathia Shutout Vs Washington
C.C. Sabathia
On October 23, Sabathia won the Players Choice Award for Outstanding AL Pitcher. His pitching performance led the Cleveland Indians to their first American League Central Division Championship since 2001, his rookie season. (Cliff Lee became the third the following season.) Sabathia also won the coveted Warren Spahn Award given to the best left-handed pitcher in the Majors. Despite his strong regular season, Sabathia did not perform well against the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series.
He was leading the American League in strikeouts (123) and strikeouts per 9.0 innings (9.0) while ranking second in innings pitched (122.1) and tied for second in complete games (3). However, with the Indians out of playoff contention, they traded their all-star pitcher to the Milwaukee Brewers for minor league prospects.
Milwaukee Brewers
2008
On July 7, 2008, Sabathia was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Matt LaPorta, pitchers Zach Jackson, Rob Bryson, and Michael Brantley. During his press conference, Sabathia made it known to the assembled members of the media that he would prefer his name to be spelled "CC" rather than "C.C." He recorded his first win with the Brewers on July 8, 2008 against the Colorado Rockies.
CC was 17–10 overall (11–2 with Milwaukee) with a 2.70 ERA and was second in the majors (behind Tim Lincecum) with 251 strikeouts. We are forever grateful! It’s been a privilege and an honor!
On August 31, 2008, Sabathia threw what was ruled as a 1-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates in PNC Park.
Brewers Clinch Playoffs - Mike Cameron And CC Sabathia Celebrate On Dugout!
C.C Sabathia Gets His 20th K
The team sent in an appeal to Major League Baseball to try to get the hit ruled as an error, but were unsuccessful. Sabathia struck out eleven in the Brewers' 7–0 win over the Pirates, making Sabathia's ninth complete game in the 2008 season. 28, 2008, Sabathia pitched a 4-hitter against the Cubs to win 3–1 in the final game of the season, sending the Brewers to their first playoffs for the first time as a National League club and the first time since losing to the St.
It was Sabathia's 10th complete game of the year, the most complete games by any pitcher in a single season since Randy Johnson threw 12 in 1999.
Sabathia was sixth in the voting for the 2008 NL MVP award, behind Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, Ryan Braun, Manny Ramirez, and Lance Berkman.
Free Agency
On December 10, 2008, the New York Post reported that CC Sabathia and the New York Yankees agreed to a deal worth up to $161 million over 7 years. While the deal is not complete, a source told ESPN that there were "zero major roadblocks" stopping an agreement between the Yankees and Sabathia. He holds a lifetime postseason record of 1 win and 3 losses in 5 games.
He has pitched a total of 25 postseason innings, giving up 22 earned runs resulting in a 7.92 ERA.
Pitching
Sabathia has a 94–99 mph fastball, a 10-to-4 slider (Sabathia calls it a cutter) from 84 to 86 mph, and an 11-to-5 curve from 79 to 82 mph. He also exhibits good command of his pitches, posting a 5.65 K/BB ratio in 2007.
Batting
In interleague play as a member of the American League, Sabathia had a career batting average of .300 with two home runs and seven RBI in 40 ABs, including a 440-foot home run on June 21, 2008, off Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park. On July 13, 2008, in his second game with the Brewers, Sabathia hit his second home run of the season off Cincinnati Reds pitcher Homer Bailey, becoming the third pitcher in history to homer in both leagues in the same season and the first since Earl Wilson did it in 1970 with Detroit and San Diego.
Stance on black players in MLB
On March 14, 2007, Sabathia addressed ESPN, criticizing Major League Baseball for not doing extra to make sure there is an adequate African American presence in the game and that it was an on-going crisis. CC has urged Bud Selig to help endorse Little League Baseball in urban areas in an effort similar to that implemented by National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern..