CC Sabathia Cost Himself a Shot at $500,000 by Getting Ejected
Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia was ejected from Thursday afternoon’s game against the Rays, and it may have cost him a big chunk of money.
Sabathia was tossed after he plunked Tampa Bay catcher Jesus Sucre leading off the bottom of the sixth inning, in retaliation for Andrew Kittredge throwing high and tight on Austin Romine in the top half of the inning. (Sabathia took a step outside the dugout after Romine was hit.)
On his way off the mound, Sabathia pointed at the Rays dugout and said, “That’s for you, b----.”
The vengeance may have proved costly for the veteran lefthander. Sabathia entered the game with 148 innings pitched, needing only seven more innings to trigger a $500,000 performance bonus in his contract. Though he only pitched seven or more innings in four of his starts this season, Sabathia was well on his way to going that deep on Thursday. He cruised through five innings of one-hit, shutout ball while throwing just 73 pitches. The bonus was well within reach, but he prioritized sticking up for his battery mate.
Barring any (unlikely) relief opportunities in Boston this weekend, Sabathia will have to settle for his $10 million base salary.
