Cy Young Profile: C.C. Sabathia, 2007

Pitcher, Cleveland Indians

Age:  27 (July 21)

7^th season with Indians

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 6’6”    Weight: 290

Prior to 2007:

A native of Vallejo, California, Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. (his family began referring to him by his first two initials in his youth) pitched in Little League and excelled in football and basketball as well as baseball in high school. A good hitter as well as excellent pitcher, Sabathia played in left field or at first base when not pitching. After going 6-0 with an 0.77 ERA as a senior he was chosen by the Indians with the twentieth pick in the 1998 amateur draft. First assigned to Burlington of the Rookie-level Appalachian League in ’98 he started five games and went 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA and 35 strikeouts over 18 innings pitched. After initially being sidelined by a sore elbow in 1999, Sabathia played for three teams from low to advanced Class A and compiled a combined record of 5-3 over 16 starts with a 3.29 ERA and 76 strikeouts over 68.1 innings pitched. Starting off with Kinston of the Carolina League in 2000 he was 3-2 with a 3.54 ERA when he was promoted to the Akron Aeros of the Class AA Eastern League and went 3-7 with a 3.59 ERA and 90 strikeouts. The 20-year-old Sabathia joined the Indians in 2001 and with command of a fastball, curve, and changeup had an impressive rookie season, producing a 17-5 record with a 4.39 ERA and 171 strikeouts. With expectations high in 2002, he got off to a slow start, despite a near no-hitter at Detroit in April, before finishing strong to end up with a 13-11 tally with a 4.37 ERA and 149 strikeouts over 210 innings. Sabathia was an All-Star for the first time in 2003 on the way to a 13-9 mark with a 3.60 ERA and 141 strikeouts. Less consistent in 2004, Sabathia produced an 11-10 record with a 4.12 ERA and 139 strikeouts. Displaying greater maturity in 2005 he went 15-10 with a 4.03 ERA and 161 strikeouts. Sabathia pitched well with mediocre run support in 2006 on the way to a 12-11 tally and 3.22 ERA with 172 strikeouts. Through 2006 he had become the first lefthander in team history to record six double-digit win totals to start his career and only the second Cleveland pitcher overall.

2007 Season Summary

Appeared in 34 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 34

Games Started – 34 [1, tied with seven others]

Complete Games – 4 [2]

Wins – 19 [2, tied with John Lackey, Roberto Hernandez & Chien-Ming Wang]

Losses – 7

PCT - .731 [3, tied with Chien-Ming Wang]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 1 [5, tied with eighteen others]

Innings Pitched – 241 [1]

Hits – 238 [3, tied with Andy Pettitte]

Runs – 94

Earned Runs – 86

Home Runs – 20

Bases on Balls – 37

Strikeouts – 209 [5]

ERA – 3.21 [5]

Hit Batters – 8 [10, tied with nine others]

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 1

League-leading innings pitched were +11 ahead of runner-up Joe Blanton

Midseason Snapshot: 12-3, ERA - 3.58, SO – 119 in 133.1 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 13 (in 7 IP) vs. Kansas City 9/14

10+ strikeout games – 3

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 3 (in 9 IP) at Cincinnati 6/10

Batting

PA – 3, AB – 3, R – 0, H – 2, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 0, SO – 0, SB – 0, CS – 0, AVG - .667, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Fielding

Chances – 26

Put Outs – 1

Assists – 24

Errors – 1

DP – 1

Pct. - .962

Postseason Pitching: G – 3 (ALDS vs. NY Yankees – 1 G; ALCS vs. Boston – 2 G)

GS – 3, CG – 0, Record – 1-2, PCT –.333, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 15.1, H – 21, R – 15, ER – 15, HR – 3, BB – 13, SO – 14, ERA – 8.80, HB – 3, BLK – 0, WP – 1

Awards & Honors:

AL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

AL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star

14^th in AL MVP voting (11 points, 3% share)

AL Cy Young voting (Top 4):

C.C. Sabathia, Clev.: 119 pts. – 19 of 28 first place votes, 85% share

Josh Beckett, Bos.: 86 pts. – 8 first place votes, 61% share

John Lackey, LAA.: 36 pts. – 1 first place vote, 26% share

Roberto Hernandez, Clev.: 7 pts. – 5% share

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Indians went 96-66 to finish first in the AL Central Division by 8 games over the Detroit Tigers. The pitching staff led the league in saves (49) and fewest walks surrendered (410). Won ALDS over the New York Yankees, 3 games to 1. Lost ALCS to the Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 3. The Indians blew a 3-games-to-1 lead as the Red Sox dominated Games 5 through 7.

Aftermath of ‘07:

With the Indians not performing as well in 2008, Sabathia, who was off to a 6-8 start and in the final year of his contract, was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in July where he went 11-2 the rest of the way for an overall record of 17-10 and a 2.70 ERA with 251 strikeouts. In the offseason he signed with the New York Yankees for seven years and $161 million. He put together a 19-8 tally for his new team in 2009 and was MVP of the ALCS triumph over the Angels in which he won both of his starts. Sabathia followed up with a 21-7 season in 2010 with a 3.18 ERA and 197 strikeouts. He placed third in AL Cy Young voting. Sabathia had another outstanding season in 2011 in which he posted a 19-8 record with a 3.00 ERA and 230 strikeouts, reaching double digits in a game five times. He was 15-6 in 2012 with a 3.38 ERA and 197 strikeouts and was among the top four in Cy Young Award voting for the third consecutive year. He added a complete game win against Baltimore in the ALDS but lost his only ALCS start against Detroit. Sabathia underwent surgery in the offseason to remove a bone spur. He struggled in 2013 before ending the season on the disabled list to end up at 14-13 with a 4.78 ERA and 175 strikeouts. He suffered through injury-plagued seasons, while also struggling with his weight, in 2014 and ’15, posting records of just 3-4 in eight starts in 2014 and 6-10 with a 4.73 ERA in ’15. With injuries still a problem in 2016, Sabathia improved his ERA to 3.91 but still posted a losing tally of 9-12. Despite lingering injuries, he improved to 14-5 in 2017 with a 3.69 ERA and 120 strikeouts. Re-signing with the Yankees in 2018 for one year and $10 million, Sabathia produced a 9-7 record with a 3.65 ERA and 140 strikeouts over 153 innings. Having had a heart procedure in the offseason, he returned to the Yankees for one more year in 2019 and was 5-8 with a 4.95 ERA to close out his career. Overall in the major leagues, Sabathia posted a 251-161 record with a 3.74 ERA, 38 complete games, 12 shutouts, and 3093 strikeouts over 3577.1 innings pitched. With the Indians he went 106-71 with a 3.83 ERA, 19 complete games, 7 shutouts, and 1265 strikeouts over 1528.2 innings. Sabathia appeared in 26 postseason games and compiled a 10-7 tally with a 4.28 ERA and 121 strikeouts over the course of 130.1 innings. He pitched one complete postseason game. He was a six-time All-Star (three apiece with Cleveland and the Yankees) and received Cy Young Award votes five times (including the one win).

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.