left shoulder, and replaced him with Ben Heller. This move rendered Sabathia ineligible to pitch in the World Series had the Yankees advanced. Sabathia told the media that his exit from the game in his announced final season was "kind of fitting. I threw until I couldn't anymore." On October 21, 2019, Sabathia officially announced his retirement from baseball with the following Twitter message: "It all started in Vallejo, CA, in my grandma's backyard throwing grapefruits at a folding chair. I could have never imagined how much this game has meant to me since. Through the ups and downs, baseball has always been my home. From Cleveland, to Milwaukee, New York, and everywhere in between, I'm so thankful to have experienced this journey with every teammate past and present. All I ever wanted was to be a great teammate and win. I'm so proud of this year's team, we fought ‘til the end. Love you guys! I'm going to miss going out there on the mound and competing, but it's time to say farewell. Thank you, Baseball." Sabathia finished his eleven-year tenure with the Yankees with 134 wins against 88 losses (a .604 winning percentage) in 307 games (306 starts), a 3.81 ERA and 1.272 WHIP, and 1,700 strikeouts in 1,918 innings pitched. Post-playing career On April 6, 2022, Sabathia was hired by Major League Baseball to serve as a special assistant to commissioner Rob Manfred. Awards and highlights 6× All-Star selection (2003, 2004, 2007, 2010–2012) World Series champion () ALCS MVP (2009) AL Cy Young Award (2007) 3x Warren Spahn Award recipient (2007–2009) 2× MLB wins leader (2009, 2010) 2× AL shutouts leader (2006, 2008) NL shutouts leader (2008) 3,000 strikeout club Player profile In August 2017, Sabathia became the all-time American League leader in strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher. At the time of his retirement following the 2019 season, he led all active Major League players in career wins, career innings pitched and career strikeouts. During his peak from 2005 to 2012, Sabathia was the winningest pitcher in major league baseball. He posted a cumulative record of 137–67 (.672) with a 3.24 ERA (including five straight seasons of 17+ wins from 2007 to 2011), threw innings and struck out 1,614 batters (averaging more than 220 innings pitched and 200 strikeouts per season), started 257 games and posted 173 quality starts, finished in the top five of the Cy