The Bronx Faithful was rocked yesterday when news of CC Sabathia entering an alcohol rehabilitation center broke. The fans came together, sent prayers to Sabathia and his family and wished him all the best. The player that stepped up and took the role of leader, offering nothing but praise for Sabathia, was the longest tenured Yankee: Alex Rodriguez.
Speaking to the media after the announcement, instead of talking about his excitement of returning to October, ARod rallied the team around the big man.
“It’s a very courageous thing to do. We play for CC now. CC has gone to the mat for us many, many times. So now we go to the mat for him.
CC is a friend and a great teammate, like a brother to me. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have a championship ring from ’09. What he did was very courageous. It takes a very tough guy to do what he did.
If you think about Mariano and Pettitte, some of the guys that have been around here that have been the most respected, he’s right at the top, It doesn’t get any higher than that. Obviously, it was a very sad day for us.
What you see is what you get with CC. He’s a warrior, he works his tail off and he’s just a very likable guy. He’s one of my favorite teammates I’ve ever had. The kind of guy you want to go to the foxhole with.
New York comes with a lot of noise all the time. It’s something we’re used to. The key is to go out and have some fun tomorrow, win one game. As far as CC, he’s our brother. He has our unconditional support and he’s going to come back next year stronger than ever.”
We all support you, Big Man. #WePlayForCC #Teammates #Brothers
— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) October 6, 2015
Sabathia has been the undisputed leader of the pitching staff since coming over in 2009. From 09-13, he pitched at least 200 innings and started no less than 28 games. He was the anchor of the 09 Championship staff and without him, we’d be in a 15 year World Series drought. Despite the recent struggles, he went out every single start he could and battled for us. We here at Bronx Pinstripes echo ARod’s praise of the big man and wish him nothing but the best. We’re family. Go Yankees!
The win or go home Wild Card Game starts tonight at 8:00 pm on ESPN.
