CC Sabathia

C. C. Sabathia
Cleveland Indians – No. 52
Starting pitcher
Bats: Left Throws: Left
debut
April 8, 2001, for the Cleveland Indians
Career statistics (through 2007)
Win-Loss	100-63
Earned run average	3.83
Strikeouts	1,142
Teams
Cleveland Indians (2001–present)
Career highlights and awards
Cy Young Award winner (2007) 3x All-Star selection (2003, 2004, 2007) Led AL in innings pitched in 2007

Carsten Charles "C. C." Sabathia (born July 21, 1980 in Vallejo, California), is an American Major League Baseball starting pitcher who plays for the Cleveland Indians.

High school career

C.C. Sabathia attended Vallejo High School, where he lettered in baseball, basketball and football. In baseball, he compiled a mark of 6-0 with an 0.77 ERA (46.2 IP, 14 H, 82 K) during his senior season. Coming out of the draft he was the top high school prospect in Northern California according to Baseball America.

In football, he was an All-conference tight end. He received scholarship offers to play college football, including one from USC, and actually signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Hawaiʻi.

Professional career

Pitching

Sabathia was drafted in the 1st round (20th overall) by the Indians in the 1998 MLB Amateur Draft. He signed for a $1.3 million bonus.

In 2000, he was selected for the 28-man 2000 United States Olympic Team roster. He appeared in one pre-Olympic tournament game in Sydney, Australia, but was not on the official 24-man, Gold Medal-winning roster because he was called up by the Cleveland Indians.

In 2001 he was the youngest player in the Major Leagues (20), the first player born in the 1980s to make his major league debut (April 8th), led the league in hits/9 IP (7.44), was third in the league in won-lost percentage (17-5, .773), fourth in strikeouts/9 IP (8.53), sixth in wins (17) and seventh in strikeouts (171). He finished second in the AL voting for rookie of the year, behind only Ichiro Suzuki.

In 2002 he was tenth in the AL in strikeouts (149).

In 2003 he had the tenth-best ERA in the AL (3.60). He was also named to the American League All-Star team

In 2004 he was again named to the American League All-Star team.

In 2005 he was fourth in the AL in strikeouts/9 IP (7.37), seventh in strikeouts (161) and eighth in wins (15).

In 2006 he led the major leagues in complete games (6). He also led the AL in shutouts (2), was third in ERA (3.22), sixth in strikeouts/9 IP (8.03) and eighth in strikeouts (172).

2007 was a banner year for Sabathia as he would blossom into an ace starting pitcher. He collected his 1000th career strikeout on May 21st, on Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners. He was also named to the American League All-Star team for the third time. On September 28, he became the youngest pitcher (27 years, 69 days) to record 100 career wins since Greg Maddux in 1993. On October 23, Sabathia won the Players Choice Award for Outstanding AL Pitcher. His pitching performance led the Cleveland Indians to their first American League Central Division Championship since 2001, his rookie season. For his performance, he was awarded the 2007 American League Cy Young Award joining Gaylord Perry as the only two Cleveland Indians pitchers to ever win the award.[1] Sabathia also won the coveted Warren Spahn Award given to the best left-handed pitcher in the Majors. [2]

Sabathia has a very good 94-98 mph fastball, an excellent 10-4 slider from 84-86 mph, and an 11-5 curve from 79-82 mph. He also has very good control, posting a very good 5.65 K/BB ratio [3].

Batting

Although Sabathia is an American League pitcher who does not bat often, he has a career batting average of .297 with 1 home run and 6 RBIs in only 37 ABs. His 11 base hits as an AL pitcher in interleague play are currently the most in the league.

Miscellaneous

• As of September, 2007, Sabathia had more career wins than any other active pitcher 27 years old or younger.
• Sabathia has a trademark way of wearing his hat, always wearing it slightly sideways and slanted.
• His California home was featured on an episode of MTV's Cribs.
• On March 14, 2007, Sabathia addressed ESPN, criticizing Major League Baseball for not doing extra to make sure there is an adequate African American presence in the game and that it was an on-going crisis.

Career statistics

Stats
Season	Team	League	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	W	L	SV	ERA	AVG
2001	Cleveland	MLB	33	33	0	0	180.1	149	93	88	95	171	17	5	0	4.39	.228
2002	Cleveland	MLB	33	33	2	0	210.0	198	109	102	88	149	13	11	0	4.37	.252
2003	Cleveland	MLB	30	30	2	1	197.2	190	85	79	66	141	13	9	0	3.60	.255
2004	Cleveland	MLB	30	30	1	1	188.0	176	90	86	72	139	11	10	0	4.12	.252
2005	Cleveland	MLB	31	31	1	0	196.2	185	92	88	62	161	15	10	0	4.03	.248
2006	Cleveland	MLB	28	28	6	2	192.2	182	83	69	44	172	12	11	0	3.22	.247
2007	Cleveland	MLB	34	34	4	1	241.2	238	94	86	37	209	19	7	0	3.21	.259
Major League Totals			219	219	16	5	1406.1	1318	646	598	464	1142	100	63	0	3.83	.249

He was named the 2007 A.L. Cy Young Award Winner after a close contest with Red Sox ace Josh Beckett. He was the first Cleveland Indians pitcher in 35 years to win the award since Gaylord Perry won in 1972.

Personal

• MLB.com lists his weight at 290 pounds, making him the heaviest major leaguer.
• He is 6' 7" tall.
• In 2000, he had his name tattooed, uniform-style, across his back in large letters.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs