Yankees Pitcher CC Sabathia, Bergen County Resident, To Enter Alcohol Rehab, Out For Playoffs

New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia will not pitch during the 2015 Major League Baseball playoffs after deciding to enter treatment at an alcohol rehabilitation center.

Sabathia released a statement Monday explaining his decision, posted on the Yankees’ website:

“Today I am checking myself into an alcohol rehabilitation center to receive the professional care and assistance needed to treat my disease,” Sabathia said in a statement issued through the Yankees. “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.”

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke about Sabathia’s decision.

“It wasn’t a phone call I was expecting,” Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News quoted Cashman as saying.

“CC has demonstrated a great deal of courage ... Time and place have no bearing. There’s something here that needs to be taken care of,” Cashman said, Feinsand reported on Twitter.

Sabatha is a former Cy Young Award winner and six-time All-Star. He helped the Yankees win a World Series in 2009.

(Image courtesy of Flickr.)