October is When Sabathia Shined Brightest
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October is when Sabathia shined the brightest as he provided lasting postseason memories for all Yankees fans. His first big moment came against the Los Angeles Angels in the 2009 ALCS. Simply, Sabathia was dominant as he went 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA. In the series pivotal Game Four, Sabathia pitched eight strong innings on three days rest in a 10-1 win. This victory propelled the Yankees to their 27th World Series championship.
Another memorable postseason performance came in a losing effort against the Houston Astros in the 2017 ALCS. Sabathia was the rock of the Yankees starting rotation until the velocity of his fastball began to dip. After a long, frustrating process, Sabathia reinvented himself into becoming a more complete pitcher that needed to hit his spots to be effective on the mound. Sabathia was brilliant against the Astros as he allowed only one run in 9.1 innings pitched with an 0.96 ERA for the series.
No question that Sabathia will be enshrined in Monument Park at Yankee Stadium as his No. 52 will be retired and a plaque in his honor will hang next to other legends. These accolades will confirm Sabathia’s place in Yankee history.
Sabathia overcame a lot of adversity over the last few seasons as he became an often-injured, broken down version of his former self. However, for the majority of his 19-year career, Sabathia was the perfect definition of what a HOF pitcher looks like on a mound.