New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia has reinvented himself with removing the four-seam fastball from his repertoire and replacing it with a cutter.
Exactly one year ago today, CC Sabathia was going through one of his worst stretches in his career. His ERA was sitting at a robust 5.65, and he couldn’t give the Yankees any length. His ERA after the fifth inning was 7.62; from the sixth inning on, it inflated to 10.12. The hot topic back then was, “What should the Yankees do with CC Sabathia?”
One talent evaluator said last season, “It’s just too late in career to turn into Pettitte or Mussina. Those guys had deliveries that were consistent with finesse pitching. CC doesn’t.”
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Moving him to the bullpen was discussed, buying out his contract was tossed around, but Joe Girardi wouldn’t entertain any of those ideas. He believed in Sabathia when not many others did. “He’s a starter for us. I mean, that’s what he is and that’s what we’re paying him to do and that’s what he’s going to do,” said Girardi after CC was shelled for six runs in 4 2/3 innings against the fifth place Philadelphia Phillies last June.
Fast forward one year from that poor start and what a difference a year can make. Whether it was the knee brace that the former CY Young award winner strapped on to give his ailing lower half support at the end of last season, or the fact that he got himself the help he needed off the diamond for his alcohol addiction, I think it’s safe to say that CC Sabathia is back.
So far in 2016, Sabathia is five and four with a 2.20 ERA which is good for best in the American League. He’s only surrendered two home runs over 65.1 innings pitched. To put that number into perspective, CC gave up twenty-eight home runs in 2015, and he averages 18.4 per season. His ability to keep the ball in the ballpark has been crucial to his success so far this season.
There was one man who saw this success coming for the former ace–Andy Petite. When asked in the offseason if he was confident that Sabathia would have a bounce back season, Andy had this to say, “I am just because I know what he can do. I watched him too many times and the command that he has, and stuff like that. I say that because I felt like I was able to do that, and I think he’s better than I was. It makes it easy for me to say that.”
Andy Pettitte has been working with CC over the past few years, and it seems like he (CC) is finally starting to listen to the former Yankee legend. Pettitte was notorious for the use of his cutter and for the early part of 2016, CC has adopted the pitch. Per BrooksBaseball, Sabathia threw 759 four-seam fastball in 2015 where opponents hit a comfortable .300. He also only threw sixteen cutters. 2016 has been a different story. He’s thrown 343 cutters to thirteen four-seam fastballs. Opponents are only hitting .217 off the cutter. By essentially taking the four-seam fastball out of his repertoire and replacing it with the cutter, CC Sabathia has reinvented himself.
With the All Star game fast approaching, it would be silly for CC not to be on that roster. He may not admit it publicly, but pitching in the All Star game would be a big moment for the big lefty. He’s overcome so much to get back to where he is today. It would be an incredible ‘What a difference a year can make’ moment.
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Whether he makes the team or he doesn’t, Sabathia has been superb this year and he’s not concerned with personal accolades: “What do you want me to do with that?,” Sabathia asked when presented with his ERA. “It is what it is. I’ll be proud of it if we can keep it going.”