CC Sabathia posted a video on social media back in November revealing that 2019 will be his last season in Major League Baseball, and the veteran lefty is expected to confirm those plans in a press conference this weekend.
Sabathia has scheduled a press conference for Saturday, and SNY’s Andy Martino reports that he will formally announce his plan to retire following the upcoming season.
CC Sabathia is having a press conference Saturday. Told that nothing dramatic has changed because of his health; he’s still pitching this year. Yankees aren’t confirming this, but it’s likely a chance to make official what he already said about retirement after 2019.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) February 13, 2019
Sabathia, 38, proved last season that he can still be an effective pitcher even though he has lost velocity. He posted a 9-7 record with a 3.65 ERA in 29 regular season starts, though he was shaky with three earned runs in three innings in his lone postseason appearance against the Boston Red Sox.
Earlier this offseason, Sabathia had a health scare when he had to undergo an unexpected heart procedure. That condition is not expected to impact his availability in 2019, and it actually sounds like he would have called it a career last season if the results were better for the Yankees.
Sabathia has a career record of 246-153 and needs just 14 more strikeouts to become the 17th pitcher in MLB history with 3,000 or more K’s. He has a great chance of making the Hall of Fame.
