Carsten Charles Sabathia: pitching excellence
30-year-old Carsten Charles Sabathia, better known as C C Sabathia is the acclaimed starting pitcher for the New York Yankees. When he was signed on for the Yankees, his contract became the most expensive contract for a pitcher in baseball history. Sabathia
played seven seasons of his career for the Cleveland Indians and a half season for the Milwaukee Brewers.
As of 2010 he has had 157 wins, 88 losses, an ERA of 3.57 and 1,787 strike-outs within the course of his career. His career has been highlighted by many awards and achievements which include the 2007 Cy Young Award, four appearances in the All-Star game,
the 2009 ALCS MVP, the World Series Championship of 2009 and three Warren Spahn Awards. He topped the American League in the number of innings pitched in 2007.
Sabathia was drafted by the Indians in 1988, where he signed on for a $1.3-million bonus. When 2001 approached, he was the youngest player in MLB history but still managed to impress everyone as he led the league in the maximum hits pitched in nine innings,
had the third highest win-loss percentage and he came fourth in the number of strike-outs pitched in 9 innings. He was the runner up in the Rookie of the Year voting, hosted by the American League and for his power packed performances he was rewarded with
a $9.5-million, four-year contract.
In 2003 Sabathia impressed everyone within the American League when he acquired the tenth-best ERA in the AL, threw a ball averaging 93.9 miles an hour resulting in him throwing the fastest ball in 2003 and was named to the AL All-Star team for the first
time. For 2005, he came fourth in the AL in strike-outs and eighth in wins. He once again delivered the fastest ball in the AL in 2005 which went up to an average of 94.7 miles per hour. Sabathia had his 1000th strike-out in 2006, which was ironically
against Ichiro Suzuki, the player he has lost the Rookie Award to. He broke Greg Maddux’s record of being the youngest pitcher to record 100 career wins and also won the Players Choice Award for Outstanding AL Pitcher. 2007 saw him getting the Cy Young Award
but after all his achievements he struggled against the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS.
In 2008, he was part of the Milwaukee Brewers after being traded and that is where he pitched three complete games with the Brewers and won all of them. He had a special technique where when the batters tried hitting his pitches, they would miss 28 percent
of the time, the highest percentage among MLB players. He was voted sixth for the 2008 NL MVP Award.
He joined the Yankees next season with the largest contract ever for a pitcher in MLB history. Sabathia’s best performance as a Yankee was when he pitched four hits, eight strike-outs and a complete shut-out against the Orioles. That was the season he won
his fourth coveted Cy Young Award and the ALCS Most Valuable Player award following his 2009 performances.
Sabathia never tires on the field, even with his giant like physique. He manages to throw fastball after fastball using his speed and arm as a weapon. His velocity has always remained above 90 and although his sweeping curve and change-up are average, combine
them with his fastball and you have a deadly recipe. Given his 6ft 7in and 290 pound physique, any one would be scared of him but his surprisingly good nature and maturity along with his ultra competitive streak has made him the approachable player that he
is today.
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