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Yankees: Ranking CC Sabathia’s top five moments over the past 11 years

By Mac Josephson

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 22: CC Sabathia #52 of the New York Yankees salutes the crowd as he is honored prior to a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on September 22, 2019 in the Bronx borough New York City. CC Sabathia is retiring at the end of the season. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 22: CC Sabathia #52 of the New York Yankees salutes the crowd as he is honored prior to a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on September 22, 2019 in the Bronx borough New York City. CC Sabathia is retiring at the end of the season. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 04: C.C. Sabathia of the New York Yankees celebrates in the dugout with a copy of the New York Post after their 7-3 win against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game Six of the 2009 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium on November 4, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images) /

2009 ALCS MVP, and World Series Champion

On December 18th of 2008, the Yankees signed Sabathia to a seven-year $161M deal which will go down as one of the best free-agent signings in franchise history. Entering the 2009 season and a brand new home ballpark in the Bronx expectations were sky-high for CC and his new teammates. If the season ended with anything short of a World Series Championship it would’ve been viewed as a total failure after Hal Steinbrenner spent over $423M on CC, AJ Burnett, and Mark Teixeira.

In his first season in pinstripes, CC lived up to the expectations and then some as he helped the Yankees to a 103 win season and the top overall seed in the playoffs. CC was solid during his first taste of the postseason with the Yanks in the ALDS against the Twins but he saved his best for the ALCS against the Angels.

CC went 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA during the series to help the Yankees advance to his first World Series in six games. He took home the ALCS MVP for his performance. He threw eight innings of one-run ball to open up the series in Game One and on three days rest he followed that up with another eight-inning, one-run gem in Game 4 at Anaheim.

Throughout the Yankees championship run CC was a true workhorse and pitched multiple times on three days rest without any issues, showcasing exactly why he was worth every penny. In five postseason starts, he went 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA and in the World Series against the Phillies CC pitched to a 3.29 ERA in two starts and the Yankees once again won in six games.

CC has accomplished a lot over the past 11 years in pinstripes but he will always be remembered most for 2009 and how he delivered on that October stage. His first season in New York couldn’t have gone any better and he followed that up with another 10 seasons of excellence on and off the field.

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One day CC will likely be honored with a plaque in Monument Park, but before that happens he and the Yankees still have some unfinished business to attend to. There’d be no better send-off than to end his career in New York the same way it started by winning another championship.

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