Yankees Pitcher CC Sabathia To Enter Alcohol Rehab, Out For Playoffs

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By DANIEL HUBBARD

New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia will not pitch during the 2015 Major League Baseball playoffs after deciding to enter treatment at an alcohol rehabilitation center.

Sabathia released a statement Monday explaining his decision, posted on the Yankees’ website:

“Today I am checking myself into an alcohol rehabilitation center to receive the professional care and assistance needed to treat my disease,” Sabathia said in a statement issued through the Yankees. “I love baseball and I love my teammates like brothers, and I am also fully aware that I am leaving at a time when we should all be coming together for one last push toward the World Series.

“It hurts me deeply to do this now, but I owe it to myself and to my family to get myself right. I want to take control of my disease, and I want to be a better man, father and player. I want to thank the New York Yankees organization for their encouragement and understanding. Their support gives me great strength and has allowed me to move forward with this decision with a clear mind.”

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman spoke about Sabathia’s decision.

“It wasn’t a phone call I was expecting,” Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News quoted Cashman as saying.

“CC has demonstrated a great deal of courage ... Time and place have no bearing. There’s something here that needs to be taken care of,” Cashman said, Feinsand reported on Twitter.

Sabatha is a former Cy Young Award winner and six-time All-Star. He helped the Yankees win a World Series in 2009.