Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia on Saturday will make what could be his final start in Cleveland, where he began his MLB career in 2001.
But the 38-year-old veteran, who is retiring after this season, is not about to let the trip down memory lane get so sentimental and "mushy" he loses focus.
“It’s fun to be in these moments now where I’m here, when it’s Cleveland and it’s a place I played,” Sabathia said (via Cleveland.com). “It’ll be fun to deal with this weekend. But, not really. I wish I was more sentimental in that way, but no.”
But there will be memories. Sabathia played his first eight seasons in Cleveland, earning 106 of his 249 career MLB wins there, along with a Cy Young Award (2007).
“It was a great time for me,” Sabathia said. “I was out here early today and just walking around and it’s weird, man. I don’t have like memories good or bad either way. It’s just memories, you know what I’m saying? It’s a weird thing, and it just feels so comfortable to be in this park.”
Sabathia told Cleveland.com that as a young pitcher, two of his mentors were former Indians Bob Feller and Mudcat Grant. Grant, an African-American, impressed on him his role as a "black ace."
“I carried that the whole time, and I knew what I wanted to be,” Sabathia said.
All these years later, Sabathia has fulfilled the ace role well. The six-time All-Star is 51-41 with a 3.81 ERA in 124 career starts in Cleveland, including 3-2 with a 3.35 ERA in seven regular-season starts there with the Yankees.
Of course, Sabathia could yet make another start in Cleveland, if the Yankees and Indians meet in the postseason.
Sabathia, who is 3-2 with a 3.61 ERA this year, will face Indians right-hander Adam Plutko (1-1, 6.35 ERA) in Saturday's game at 4:10 p.m. ET.