C.C. Sabathia's Win Against the Kansas City Royals Is No Coincidence

On April 22^nd, C.C. Sabathia had his first successful outing of the 2008 season with a 15 to one win over the Kansas City Royals. It seems as if whatever mental woes were plaguing Sabathia have momentarily ended as he proved why he is the Cleveland Indians’ number one starter.

Though fans are left wondering what exactly snapped C.C. Sabathia out of his funk. Certainly it had to have been a visit from the three spirits of baseball: past, present, and what is yet to come. What else would’ve scared him into 11 strikeouts and a dominant six innings on the mound?

Who would be the Ghost of Baseball past you may be asking? A young, awkward, yet promising C.C. Sabathia who has yet to fulfill his destiny of being the number one starter for the Cleveland Indians. Little Carsten Charles would show the much bigger C.C. the key events that shaped him into the person he is today.

“Remember when we were just a kid? Remember when millions of dollars didn’t matter and our only concern was playing baseball? Get back to that! Don’t let the dollar signs flood your mind!”

Figuring his ghastly night was over, he would be surprised yet again by another of baseball’s spirits, the Ghost of Baseball Present.

Certainly none other than Cy Young himself would be there to guide Sabathia through his current situation. He’d stand along side him on the mound, watching his first five atrocious starts.

“Snap out of it!,” he’d say, grasping the shoulders of Sabathia, “Your ERA is horrendous! If I had thrown like that, your award would never have been called the Cy Young.”

C.C. was shaken. He had realized how horrible he was pitching but what could he do? He tried to go back to sleep, yet he still felt restless. Something seemed off.

It was then when he was finally visited by the Ghost of Baseball Yet to Come. Sabathia had no idea who this was, though the spirit was dressed in the tattered uniform of an umpire and his face was hidden by his frightening mask.

The Ghost of Baseball Yet to Come said nothing to Sabathia though he still followed him, curious yet frightened at the same time. The Ghost of Baseball Yet to Come showed C.C. the grim reality of what could happen if he continued to pitch so horribly.

Inside Progressive Field was a memorial for Sabathia inside the now not so new Heritage Park. But instead of the fresh, untouched marble in honor of other Indians players, Sabathia’s plaque was scribbled upon with different colors of sharpies with the some of the following phrases:

C.C. was upset. He turned towards the Ghost of Baseball Yet to Come and shouted, “Tell me what to do! I want to change! I need to change!”

The Ghost of Baseball Yet to Come did not say anything even as Sabathia got down on his knees and begged. Lights flashed and the world around him was spinning. Before he knew it, he was on the mound at Kauffman Stadium and the baseball gods were finally smiling upon him.

The Indians would win and Tribe fans would be letting out a resounding sigh of relief. C.C. Sabathia has returned.