(Neil Miller /Sportsday Wire)
Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia announced on Monday that he will be entering an alcohol rehabilitation center. The shocking news will take him out of participating in the playoffs, which begins with the Wild Card Game against Houston on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.
Here is the statement from Sabathia that was released by the Yankees:
“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.
“I want to thank the New York Yankees organization for their encouragement and understanding. Their support gives me great strength and has allowed me to move forward with this decision with a clear mind.
“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.
“I am looking forward to being out on the field with my team next season playing the game that brings me so much happiness.”
Sabathia would have likely started the opener of the Division Series if the Yankees made it. He finished the regular season with a 6-10 record with a 4.73 ERA. Sabathia pitched well at the end of the season, as he beat the Mets on September 20, and his last game was on October 1st against Boston, in which the Yankees clinched the Wild Card.
In his seven seasons with the Yankees since he came to New York in 2009, he has a regular season record of 97-56 and was 7-2 in postseason play.
Sabathia is scheduled to make $25 million next season and has a $25 million vesting option for 2017.