Chase Field, bottom of the second, and CC Sabathia is one strike from history in front of a road crowd that's about to give him a standing ovation anyway. That's how you know it's real. On April 30, 2019, Sabathia struck out the side against the Diamondbacks, and strikeout number three was career strikeout number 3,000 -- making him the 17th pitcher in Major League history to reach the mark, and just the third lefty ever, joining Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton. The Yankees still lost the game. Baseball doesn't care about your storybook moments.
The Setup
Sabathia wasn't chasing this milestone quietly. He'd announced back in February, at a Tampa press conference, that 2019 would be his last season -- knee shredded after yet another offseason cleanup, and four kids at home he wanted to actually be around for. He'd also just had a stent put in after a scare right before Christmas, though he was clear that wasn't why he was walking away -- he'd already decided to retire before that ever happened. Every start that spring carried extra weight because everybody knew the innings were running out.
He walked into that Tuesday night in Phoenix sitting at 2,997 strikeouts. Nobody needed a calculator to know the number was coming. The only question was which unlucky hitter would be standing there when it did (preferably a stranger -- baseball had other ideas).
The Moment
Bottom of the 2nd inning. Sabathia got David Peralta looking on a sinker, then blew a high cutter past Christian Walker for the second out. Up came catcher John Ryan Murphy -- and here's the part that makes this whole thing feel scripted by somebody with a flair for irony.
Murphy came up through the Yankees system, backed up the plate in the Bronx from 2013-2015, and got shipped to Minnesota after the 2015 season before landing in Arizona. He'd already caught one Sabathia milestone before -- he was behind the plate for strikeout number 2,500, back when he still wore pinstripes. Now he was in the box for number 3,000, on the wrong side of it this time.
Sabathia worked him with four straight cutters, three of them fouled off, running the count to 1-2. Then he dropped in an 84.2 mph changeup that Murphy swung through for strike three. Five pitches, one milestone, one very old friend on the business end of it. (Sabathia admitted afterward he didn't love that it had to be Murph specifically -- "I didn't want it to be Murph. Me and him are really close. I've known him his whole career and he's a great guy.")
The dugout emptied. The Chase Field crowd -- again, not his crowd, not his team, an away crowd in Arizona on a Tuesday night -- stood up and clapped for a total stranger's pitcher, a guy from the other league they'd probably never see again. Sabathia found his kids in the front row and hugged them before jogging back out for the third.
The Loss That Didn't Matter
Here's the twist nobody scripts: the Yankees lost, 3-1. Zack Greinke outdueled Sabathia head-to-head, going 7.2 innings with just one run allowed and seven strikeouts of his own. Sabathia finished his night at 5.1 innings, two earned runs, five strikeouts -- and took the loss in the same box score where he made history.
That's baseball being baseball. You can do something only sixteen other men had ever done (a shorter guest list than the Old-Timers' Day invite) and still walk off with an L next to your name. Sabathia didn't get a storybook final line. He got a footnote loss attached to an all-timer milestone, and somehow that fits his whole career -- the guy who did the dirty work and let the highlight reel take care of itself.
He was also the first pitcher to hit 3,000 strikeouts since John Smoltz did it back in 2008 -- an 11-year gap where nobody else got there. And it wasn't lost on anybody that Sabathia became just the third Black pitcher to reach the milestone, after Bob Gibson and Fergie Jenkins, a fact he'd lean into publicly for years afterward as part of honoring the "Black Aces" who came before him.
He's a Hall of Famer. To me, he's a no-brainer.
Boone wasn't just being nice. Gary Sanchez, catching that night, called it something he'd never forget -- "one of those super excited and happy" nights behind the plate for a milestone most catchers never get to witness once, let alone twice removed like Murphy did.
Twenty Years in the Making
By the time Sabathia got to 3,000, he'd already banked a Cy Young (2007, Cleveland: 19-7, 3.21 ERA, 209 K), a ring (2009, the Yankees' last championship), and the 2009 ALCS MVP for going 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA across two starts against the Angels. Six All-Star nods. Over 250 wins. All of it on a knee that needed a brace the size of a small appliance just to get him through five innings by 2019.
He'd retire that October with 251 wins, 161 losses, a 3.74 ERA, and 3,093 strikeouts across 19 seasons split between Cleveland, Milwaukee, and the Bronx. Six years later, the writers put him in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. Nobody who watched that knee brace in April 2019 needed a vote to tell them that.
Sabathia Announces Retirement
At a Tampa press conference, Sabathia says 2019 will be his final season, citing chronic knee trouble and a desire to spend more time with his family. He'd also had a heart stent procedure that offseason, though he said it wasn't a factor in the decision.
3,000th Career Strikeout
Sabathia strikes out John Ryan Murphy on a 5th-pitch changeup in the bottom of the 2nd at Chase Field, becoming the 17th pitcher in MLB history and third lefty ever to reach 3,000 strikeouts.
Yankees Lose Anyway
Zack Greinke outpitches Sabathia (7.2 IP, 1 ER, 7 K), and Arizona beats New York 3-1 despite the milestone. Sabathia takes the loss at 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 K.
Final MLB Season
Sabathia finishes his farewell year at 5-8, 4.95 ERA in 107.1 innings, then appears in relief during New York's run to the ALCS.
Elected to the Hall of Fame
Sabathia earns first-ballot induction with 342 votes (86.8%), part of a class alongside Ichiro Suzuki and Billy Wagner.
| Date / Location | April 30, 2019 -- Chase Field, Phoenix |
| Milestone Batter | John Ryan Murphy (5th pitch, 84.2 mph changeup) |
| Final Score | Diamondbacks 3, Yankees 1 |
| Sabathia's Line | 5.1 IP, 2 ER, 5 K (loss) |
| 3,000-K Club Rank | 17th all-time (as of 2019), 3rd lefty ever |
| Career Totals | 251-161, 3.74 ERA, 3,093 K |
| 2007 AL Cy Young (Cleveland) | 19-7, 3.21 ERA, 209 K |
| 2009 ALCS MVP | 2-0, 1.13 ERA over 16 IP vs. Angels |
| All-Star Selections | 6x (2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who did CC Sabathia strike out for his 3,000th career strikeout?
John Ryan Murphy, the Arizona Diamondbacks catcher and former Yankees farmhand, went down swinging on an 84.2 mph changeup on April 30, 2019.
Where did CC Sabathia get his 3,000th strikeout?
Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona -- a Yankees road game against the Diamondbacks, not Yankee Stadium.
Was CC Sabathia the 17th or 18th pitcher to reach 3,000 strikeouts?
He was the 17th pitcher in MLB history to do it, as of April 30, 2019. The club has grown since then -- Justin Verlander joined later that same year, Max Scherzer got there in 2021, and Clayton Kershaw made it in 2025 -- so "17th" reflects his rank at the time, not the current total.
Did the Yankees win the game where Sabathia recorded his 3,000th strikeout?
No. Arizona won 3-1. Zack Greinke outpitched Sabathia, who took the loss despite the milestone.
Was 2019 CC Sabathia's last season with the Yankees?
Yes. Sabathia announced his retirement in February 2019, before the milestone game, making his 19th and final big-league season an explicit farewell tour that ended with a first-ballot Hall of Fame induction in 2025.