CC Sabathia checks himself into rehab for alcoholism, will not pitch in postseason

The Yankees' organization and baseball as a whole were sent into a shock today, as former ace CC Sabathia announced that he would be checking himself into a rehabilitation program to fight alcoholism. Given that this is such a monumental life decision, Sabathia will not be pitching in the postseason for the team, and he is determined to go through this and make himself a better person. Here is the statement:

Full statement from CC Sabathia: pic.twitter.com/zfODgHZOy2

— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) October 5, 2015

This news seemed to come out of almost nowhere. There was the incident in Toronto back in August where he almost got in a fight outside a nightclub, but that was about it. Perhaps what really happened was far worse than what news was actually released. Nonetheless, even the Yankees' beat writers were stunned by the news since they had never detected such problems with Sabathia. The mind naturally moves to the Yankees' locker room celebration on Thursday after clinching the Wild Card, or maybe some other unfortunate news that has not been made public yet.

At this point though, that's mere speculation. The most important thing is that Sabathia is taking care of his life, which matters far more than pitching in the playoffs. It doesn't matter how much money he's making, how much the team's plans will change, or anything like that. Life always takes priority over baseball, and Josh Hamilton's tumultuousride to the majors from 1999-2007 is a testament to just how much damage someone can do to himself when he doesn't address alcoholism. Most Yankees fans know that Mickey Mantle spent a long, long time battling those demons, too, and Mantle later admitted that it almost ruined his life. This is serious.

CC Sabathia is getting help, and all Yankees fans should 100 percent support this decision. At the end of the day, he's a human being just like us, and he is beginning his fight against a brutal disease. The Yankees will replace him as they see fit, and whether it's Adam Warren, Ivan Nova, or someone else taking his spot in the rotation, it really does not matter in the grand scheme of things. If the Yankees are worse off in the playoffs, so be it.

Best of luck, CC. You'll be on our minds, and we will cross our fingers that we get to see you back and strong again in 2016.