CC Sabathia Reaches Win No. 200: Does He Have a Shot at 300?
July 3, 2013 · Josh Schoch · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
CC Sabathia reached 200 career victories on Wednesday night, leading the New York Yankees to a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.
Sabathia threw seven strong innings, giving up two earned runs on seven hits and striking out nine as he won his ninth game of the season.
Mariano Rivera converted his 28th save of the year, while Robinson Cano accounted for all three runs, knocking in two with a double and scoring the third himself.
C.C. Sabathia wins his 200th career game as Yanks beat Twins, 3-2. He become 4th active P w/ 200 or more wins (Pettitte, Halladay & Hudson).
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 4, 2013
Sabathia joined an elite group of pitchers who have won 200 games in their MLB careers, becoming the 114th to do so. But can he take the next step and become the next 300-game winner in baseball?
At just 32 years old, Sabathia is still relatively young and has a chance to become just the 25th pitcher in history to win 300 games if he can tack on another 100.
He clearly has the best chance of winning 300 games of any active pitcher, as seen by this chart (h/t Leonardo Aranda).
What’s more, if he does it, he could easily be the final pitcher to join the hallowed club because of the way the game has changed to favor batters over the past few decades.
If he gets there, CC Sabathia will be the last 300 win pitcher
— M.B.Howard (@capostatus85) July 4, 2013
Sabathia needed 12.5 seasons and 400 starts to get to 200 wins. So far, he has won exactly half of his starts, and if he were to keep that pace up, he would need to make another 200 starts, which could take him until roughly the end of 2019 or the beginning of 2020 if he doesn’t get hurt along the way.
He would be 39 or 40 years old at that point. While some pitchers pitch well into their 40s, there’s no guarantee Sabathia could do it. He said that he felt old after his latest milestone, and that’s not exactly a good sign.
CC Sabathia on what 200 victories means to him: “It makes me feel old.”
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughSL) July 4, 2013
However, there is hope for Sabathia. He might not have to pitch until he’s 40 after all, as he is pitching for a team with a great offense.
Ever since Sabathia came over to the Yanks, he has seen his win rate soar. In 146 starts for the Bronx Bombers, he has won 82 games. That’s a win rate of 56.2 percent. If Sabathia were to keep that pace up for the rest of his career, he would reach 300 wins in roughly 178 starts.
CC would make his 178th start in the middle of the 2019 season, as opposed to the very end of it. He would only be 38 years old, which is a much more manageable age to pitch at compared to almost 40.
Sabathia has the best chance of any pitcher to do it, but he still doesn’t have a great chance.
To avoid injuries and overcome the inevitable decline from Father Time is a tall order, and it’s amazing that Sabathia has reached 200 wins so early in his career in the current day and age.
Does Sabathia have a chance? Yes. Is it a good chance? No.
Will he do it? Only time will tell.
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