CC Sabathia Says Yankees Were 'Cheated' out of World Series Title by Astros

The fallout from the conclusion of Major League Baseball's investigation into the Houston Astros' sign-stealing schemes during their 2017 World Series-winning season has resulted in numerous firings, a $5 million fine and the loss of draft picks.  

Elsewhere, the Astros' opponents have expressed their opinions on the matter in various ways, and ex-New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia threw his hat into the ring during an appearance on Showtime's Inside the NFL (h/t ESPN).

"It's weird, like it changes all the time," Sabathia said. "When I first heard it, I was upset, and then as investigations went on ... I was like, well, we can't go back and play the games ... but as more information started to come out, I'm like, we played a seven-game series in 2017, ALCS, and we lost really on kind of like one pitch.

"As everything's been coming out, and the more facts that we get, it's getting frustrating man, to sit here and know that late in my career I could've had a title, maybe '17 or maybe '18, but we got cheated out of a team kind of doing something that's not within the rules of the game."

The Yankees lost to the Astros in seven games during the 2017 American League Championship Series. Sabathia, a 19-year veteran, played with New York from 2009-19 before his retirement.

The sign stealing occurred on the Astros' home turf at Minute Maid Park. Sabathia made two starts against Houston in the ALCS, tossing six shutout innings at Yankee Stadium in Game 3 and 3.1 frames of one-run ball during Game 7 in Texas. The Yanks lost the deciding matchup 4-0.

Sabathia isn't the only Yankee to directly or indirectly make a statement about the Astros of late. Right fielder Aaron Judge, who finished second in the AL MVP voting to Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, deleted an old Instagram post congratulating his opponent on the award.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone reportedly feels "vindicated" after the news broke, per a text ex-Yanks skipper Buck Showalter said he received from New York's current leader.

New York claimed the Astros were stealing signs in the 2019 ALCS, won by the Astros in six games. The investigation focused on the 2017 campaign.

Yankees middle infielder Gleyber Torres also issued this response to Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer's video following the Astros news:

New York will visit Houston from Friday, May 15 through Sunday, May 17. Houston will pay a visit to the Bronx in a four-game series from Monday, Sept. 21 through Thurs., Sept. 24.