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CC Sabathia claps back at columnist for calling his jersey retirement a farce

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Renzo Pocholo Salao | Last updated Mar 1, 2026 11:06 PM ET

CC Sabathia was unbothered by one columnist’s scathing thoughts on his upcoming jersey retirement.

The New York Yankees on Wednesday announced that the team was retiring Sabathia’s No. 52 uniform. The news obviously did not sit well with New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick, who trashed the move in an article titled “Yankees retiring CC Sabathia’s number shows the sad state of our standard for greatness.”

The column sits behind a paywall, but the title speaks for itself regarding Musnick’s view on the Yankees honoring Sabathia.

Sabathia agreed to disagree. The Yankees legend reposted the column with a caption dismissing Mushnick’s stance on the matter.

“Ah damn Phil sorry you feel that way…see you 9/26/26,” Sabathia captioned with several laughing emojis.

Ah damn Phil sorry you feel that way…see you 9/26/26 https://t.co/prEraWYWZ0
— CC Sabathia (@CC_Sabathia) March 1, 2026

Mushnick has long had a reputation for being a pot-stirring columnist. Criticizing Sabathia’s jersey retirement was pretty much low-hanging fruit as a polarizing topic that would rile up fervent Yankees fans — and apparently Sabathia himself.

Sabathia is slated to become the 24th player to have his jersey retired by the Yankees. The Pinstripes have the most retired numbers by far, which has led to some discussion about what the standard should be when it comes to giving a player such an honor.

Last month, Sabathia was voted as a first-ballot Hall of Famer after his stellar 19-year MLB career. Sabathia was a six-time All-Star, won a Cy Young Award, and scored a World Series ring during his two decades in the majors. However, he earned half of his All-Star nods and his Cy Young trophy when he was still a member of the Cleveland franchise.

Sabathia made it clear that he wants to be enshrined as a Yankee.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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