CC Sabathia shows his devotion to the New York Yankees and his teammates after an ejection that cost him $500,000.
New York Yankees lefty CC Sabathia was ejected from Thursday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays for hitting catcher Jesus Sucre. In the bottom of the sixth inning, with New York up 11-0, Sabathia nailed Sucre with a fastball to the leg.
The ejection soon followed, as did some drama. Check out the video footage below:
CC Sabathia's $500K pitch
(via @YESNetwork)pic.twitter.com/uUyuQzpQ2o
— Bleacher Report MLB (@BR_MLB) September 27, 2018
How did this come to happen despite the game being a blowout? Well, it all began when Sabathia accidentally hit Rays first baseman Jake Bauers in the bottom of the fifth. Yankees catcher Austin Romine led off the sixth and was greeted by a fastball up and in. As Romine stared down Tampa Bay righty Andrew Kittredge, home plate umpire Vic Carapazza warned both teams.
Sabathia then opened the sixth by buzzing Sucre, was ejected, then mouthed off to Tampa Bay’s dugout as he left the field. The drama continued as everyone in the Rays bullpen stood up. Sabathia looked ready to fight, but right fielder Aaron Judge took on the role of peacekeeper.
Sabathia had thrown five shutout innings and needed to throw two more frames to earn a $500,000 incentives bonus. He lost that but didn’t seem too bothered.
“I don’t really make decisions based on money, I guess,” Sabathia told Coley Harvey of ESPN after the game. “Just felt like it was the right thing to do.”
In short, this is classic CC Sabathia. The veteran stands up for his teammates regardless of circumstances and today was no exception. He even got involved in the infamous Boston brawl back in April, even though he didn’t even start that game. Here’s a refresher:
Hopefully, the Yankees reward the impending free agent with another new contract. Sabathia deserves it for that kind of devotion, don’t you think?
