CC Sabathia Announces He is Entering Alcohol Rehab Facility

CC Sabathia just issued a statement through the Yankees announcing that he is leaving the team and checking himself into an alcohol rehabilitation center. The Yankees are playing a Wild Card game against the Houston Astros tomorrow night, and while Sabathia admits he hates to miss this time of the year with his teammates, he said he needs to get the care necessary to treat his disease for himself and his family first.

His full statement is available here, and below.

Here is CC Sabathia's full statement. pic.twitter.com/v2KhuGq7vD
— Jesse Spector (@jessespector) October 5, 2015

This is pretty shocking news. Although he might not be the same ace he was earlier in his career—getting older will do that to you, especially an innings eater like Sabathia—he's always been a great teammate, and I can't think of any whispers that he ever had some kind of problem previously.