Yankees Honor CC Sabathia Before Bitter AL East Showdown

In 2009, Sabthia pitched 230 innings, won 19 games, and had a 3.37 ERA. Sabathia's big second half of the season, where he pitched to a 2.74 ERA in his last 15 games, helped secure a massive comeback in the AL East against the Boston Red Sox. On the day they honor him, these Yankees hope to do the same against the Blue Jays.

Sabathia's numbers and production on the field are just one piece of the puzzle that make him one of the great Yankees. The other is his leadership. That wasn't more on display than when the Tampa Bay Rays plunked his battery mate, Austin Romine. Sabathia, of course, retaliated, taking arms for his catcher. Still, the most amazing part wasn't that he defended his teammate. Sabathia was ejected, which resulted in him missing out on a $500,000 contract incentive that he was on the verge of receiving.

Sabathia needed seven innings to hit the incentive, and seeing as he was cruising through five, it looked like a lock that the big lefty would get there. To Sabathia, though, it was more important that he have his guy's back.

Austin Romine was asked about it during an interview with The Athletic in January 2025.

"It speaks volumes to the old-school baseball player he was, and the kind of baseball player he came up with," Romine said. "No one is throwing at your guys, especially at the head. I think that really set something off in him. I'm never going to say it was about me. It was about his team. It was about his catcher and about his team being thrown at, and he's been the guy to protect his team throughout his career. You're throwing at the nine-hole backup catcher, and that's one thing. You're not going to throw at the three-hole, four-hole hitters."

A year later, Sabathia got into it with the Rays again. Avisail Garcia was called out on strikes, and after Garcia argued the call with the umpire, Sabathia stared him down. The two men then exchanged words. Both teams flooded the field, and the Rays and Yankees had another of their conflicts during those early Aaron Judge years. After the game, Garcia said he had no idea why Sabathia was mad.

Trailing the Rays for most of the game, the Yankees sparked a comeback. A home run by Judge and a grand slam by the struggling Didi Gregorious put the game on ice, and that became one of the more memorable games for 2019.

To honor Sabathia isn't just about the numbers on the field. It's also to celebrate one of the great teammates anybody who has ever put on a Yankee jersey has had.

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