Ejection hits CC Sabathia right in the wallet (video)

CC Sabathia was ejected from his final outing of this season Thursday, and it also cost him some money.

Pitching on a one-year deal at 38 years old, CC Sabathia has hinted about retirement all season. But he most recently said he plans to pitch in 2019, even if it’s not for the Yankees.

He has pitched solidly this year, with a 3.77 ERA over 28 starts entering Thursday, and made his final start of the regular season against the Tampa Bay Rays Thursday afternoon.

Sabathia got the win in 12-1 Yankees’ victory, as he went five shutout innings while allowing just one hit.

But he hit Rays first baseman Jake Bauers in the bottom of the fifth inning and then Rays pitcher Andrew Kittredge threw a pitch at the head of Yankees catcher Austin Romine in the top of the sixth.

Sabathia took the mound for the bottom of the inning and promptly hit Rays catcher Jesus Sucre. He was ejected, and left the field in an animated fashion.

Sabathia was pitching well enough, and with a big enough lead, that going seven innings seemed sure. Turns out the early ejection cost him a little money too.

By finishing with 153 innings for the season, Sabathia apparently literally threw away a $500,000 incentive bonus that would’ve come with reaching a benchmark 155 innings pitched by retaliating for what looked like a purpose pitch from Kittredge.

It may have been worth it to back up a teammate, though, and Sabathia will make $10 million in base salary this year anyway.

A half a million dollars would be a lot to you, me and virtually anyone else who’s not a professional athlete. But Sabathia has career earnings a little north of $252.3 million, with some more to come if he indeed pitches next year. So he should be fine without that extra $500,000.