Going out on top always sounds like a fantastic idea, but very few athletes actually do it. CC Sabathia tells George King of the New York Post that he’ll be the exception, not the rule, saying he’ll likely retire if the Yankees win the World Series this year. “I want one more parade and pretty sure that will be it,” he tells King. “I thought I had it last year.”
Sabathia is enjoying a nice late-career renaissance, having transformed himself from the dominant lefty he used to be to a crafty one over the past several seasons. He’s off to a great start this season, with a 1.39 ERA over his first six starts. He’s struck out only 23 batters in 32.1 innings, but he’s only walked five and has only given up 23 hits, for a sparkling WHIP of 0.866. While he’s only on a one-year contract, he’s well on his way to being a bargain at $10 million in 2018 and to earning him another deal for his age-38 season. Could he be Jamie Moyer v2.0? Who knows, but he’s pitching well enough to where, if he wanted to try, he certainly could.
Still, if the Yankees win it all -- getting Sabathia his second ring -- what worlds would there be left to conquer? He has a Cy Young Award and the postseason hardware. At this point the Cooperstown case for the big guy is unlikely to change, pro or con, by hanging on for a few more years. Sabathia is wealthy as heck and he’s a family man, so he has plenty to do once he’s done with baseball.
Why not go out on top?