CC says farewell to baseball with heartfelt note

CC Sabathia officially announced his retirement on Monday morning after 19 seasons in the big leagues. Sabathia made his final appearance for the Yankees during the American League Championship Series against the Astros before being removed with a shoulder injury.

While his impending retirement was a foregone conclusion, Sabathia cemented the end of his career with a Twitter post looking back on his time in baseball.

"It all started in Vallejo, CA, in my grandma's backyard throwing grapefruits at a folding chair. I could have never imagined how much this game has meant to me since,” the post, which is accompanied by a “Thank You New York” photo, reads.

“Through the ups and downs, baseball has always been my home. From Cleveland, to Milwaukee, New York, and everywhere in between, I'm so thankful to have experienced this journey with every teammate past and present," Sabathia said in a statement on Twitter. "All I ever wanted was to be a great teammate and win. I'm so proud of this year's team, we fought ‘til the end. Love you guys! I'm going to miss going out there on the mound and competing, but it's time to say farewell. Thank you, Baseball."

Sabathia will be remembered as one of the best pitchers of his generation. The 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner finishes his career with a record of 251-161 and a 3.74 ERA over 19 seasons with the Indians, Brewers and Yankees. He struck out 3,093 batters, which ranks 16th all-time and is the third-most strikeouts by a lefty in MLB history after Randy Johnson (4,875) and Steve Carlton (4,136).

The veteran southpaw was one of the most decorated pitchers of his era. He was selected for the All-Star Game six times, had five Top 5 Cy Young finishes -- winning the award with Cleveland -- and was a World Series winner as a member of the 2009 Yankees.