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PHOENIX – Of all the drummers who could become Cc The 3000th victory in Sabathia's career on Tuesday evening, he hoped to avoid two.
One of them was Zack Greinke, the star thrower of the Arizona Diamondbacks, as pitchers were not so proud to cancel one of theirs. The other was catcher John Ryan Murphy, who was formerly his Sabkeia Yankees teammate.
"We and he are very close," Sabathia said after Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Diamondbacks. "I've known him for all his career."
Sabathia, 38, sent a lot of batters to the dugout canoe and mumbled a career worthy of the Hall of Fame that lasted 19 seasons, three teams, a Cy Young Award, six All-Star selections, a World Series ring, 3,490 innings, 54,967 pitches, a pitcher to pit launcher conversion clever and a lot of knee pain.
By entering Tuesday, he needed three punches to become the 17th thrower – and only the third left-handed – to enter the club of 3,000 enrollees. David Peralta and Christian Walker were the first two to face off in the second inning before Sabathia gave Wilmer Flores a run and Nick Ahmed a single.
Murphy arrived as a Yankee from 2013 to 2015 before being traded to the Minnesota Twins. During his three years in New York, he squatted for 15 games of Sabathia, including one on April 24, 2015, in which Sabathia registered his 2500th career retirement.
Sabathia was determined to reach 3,000 on Tuesday night, attacking the batters more than in his previous start. Against Murphy, he returned four knives, which earned him to be reinvented and allowed him to reach that point. Murphy escaped three. Sabathia then revealed a low change, and Murphy moved.
The crowd of Chase Field, filled with his fans of Yankees and aware of the moment, roars. Sabathia's teammates and coaches met him in the field to offer hugs one by one, a gesture he described as incredible.
"Since the end of last year, there are only 14 sorties left in attack, that's the only thing I've been thinking about for six months," he said. "To finish with that, I can only worry about the season. And our ultimate goal is to try to win games. "
After hugs and cheers, Sabathia grabbed his bat and his helmet as he led the third inning. By this time, his children, his wife, and his mother had crossed the bleachers to the edge of the visitors' shelter. As he headed for the plateau, Sabathia noticed that his youngest son, Carter, aged 8, was hanging on the edge of the ramp. He kissed all his children, kissed his wife and grabbed his mother's hand.
"It was a fun time these last two weeks with these guys who were traveling with me," said Sabathia about the entourage of his family and friends who had accompanied him on the Yankees' road trip. Anaheim, California; San Francisco; and now Phoenix.
"This guy is missing high school baseball games to see things like that," Sabathia said of his eldest son, 15-year-old Carsten Charles III. "It's a special moment."
Before beating in the third inning, Sabathia briefly spoke with Murphy, asking him how he and his mother, who fought Parkinson's disease, were going. It was a small example of Sabathia's reputation as a caring teammate. Murphy himself asked a question that made Sabathia laugh.
"I asked him if he wanted me to sign baseball for him," Murphy said.
Sabathia lasted five and a third inning and allowed two runs and five hits, but the Yankees never took advantage after the Flores home score. He left after scoring two runners in sixth place, coming off the pitch for a standing ovation and with 3,002 career outs. Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson are the other left-handed throwers to reach the 3,000 attack. Sabathia also became the third black pitcher, joining Ferguson Jenkins and Bob Gibson, to achieve this feat.
"Doing what he's been able to do in recent years, after not having the speed and one or two knee injuries, says a lot about his guy and his competitor," said Murphy.
In recent weeks, Sabathia said that he had been thinking about his winding journey that had started in his hometown, Vallejo, California. He recalled that he thought of the periods in which he did not think to go so far, especially because of the right knee having undergone at least three operations, of which one in winter. A heart attack in December only strengthened his decision to retire after this season.
Sabathia said that he had also thought back to his childhood, when he dreamed of becoming a power pitcher like Johnson and the way he had cried on the mound when he had dropped a shot. He remembers some 880 hitters he has duped during his major league career, including Chris Davis, the Baltimore Orioles first baseman, and retired Carlos Pena, each with 26 strikeouts. catches.
Sabathia rethought how nervous he was for his major league debut, with the Cleveland Indians defeating the Orioles in 2001, and for his first career retirement, Orioles left-field Mike Kinkade.
"I remember thinking that it was a bit disappointing because I had faced Mike Kinkade several times in the minor leagues and that I wanted it to be like Cal Ripken or somebody else. one of them, "said Sabathia last week.
Reached by phone on Tuesday, Kinkade, 45, now a baseball coach at Pullman High School (Wash.), Said he did not remember exactly how he had hit Sabathia in 2001. C & Maybe it's a balloon that breaks, he says. But he remembered passing a fast pitching ball over the board.
Before playing in six major league games with three teams, Kinkade and Sabathia were briefly team-mates of the US Olympic baseball team.
"I never knew I was first," Kinkade said. "Boy, I wish I had switched to that first fastball, I'm not so happy to be No. 1, but I'm happy to be # 1."
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