CC Sabathia reached his breaking point following a weekend-long bender in Baltimore.
The Yankees left-hander announced Monday that he was checking himself into rehab to deal with his alcohol problem, which will cause him to miss the entire postseason. The Yankees open up their quest for a 28th World Series championship when they host the Astros in the Bronx Tuesday night in the AL Wild Card Game.
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Sabathia was last seen on the mound when he helped pitch New York to its first playoff berth in three years against the Red Sox on Thursday. From there, the celebration was on, and for the six-time All-Star, it unfortunately never stopped.
"His drinking got really bad this weekend, and it put him in a really bad place," a source told the New York Post. "He was afraid. He felt that if I don't do this now and go into rehab, I don't know what is going to happen."
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The source told the publication that Sabathia "looked out of it" on Friday and spent most of the Yankees' weekend in Baltimore at a hotel pounding alcoholic beverages.
"He drank every day last week apart from the day he pitched," the source said. "The tipping point was Friday when he was at the stadium. He carried on drinking Saturday."
Sabathia's (6-10, 4.73 ERA) performance in the beginning of the season likely drove most Yankee fans to drink, but he got his game together over the final month of the season. The 2009 World Series champion pitched to a 2-1 record with a 2.17 ERA over the final five weeks.
The 35-year-old, who nearly got into a street brawl in Toronto in August, left the club on Sunday to attend a rehab facility in Connecticut, where he will spend at least 30 days. Sabathia released a statement on Monday detailing his need to get help and acknowledging that he was leaving the team amid its push for 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," he said in a statement. "I want to take control of my disease, I want to be a better man, father and player."
Sabathia is set to make $25 million next season and has a vesting option of the same amount for 2017.
The 2007 Cy Young Award winner said he is determined to return next year to play the game that "brings me so much happiness."
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