CC Sabathia Yankees' deal to be the richest ever for a pitcher

More reasons ticket prices are a joke!

http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2008/12/cc_sabathia_to_sign_with_yanke.html

CC Sabathia has informed the Yankees that he will not be negotiating with any other teams and will sign with them for the largest contract ever given to a pitcher in baseball history.


There had been talk during the negotiations of adding an opt-out clause to allow Sabathia to get out of the contract after two or three years if he didn't enjoy playing in New York. The official did not know if such a clause would be included in the final deal.

Sabathia informed Yankees GM Brian Cashman of his decision Tuesday night in a meeting at the pitcher's home near San Francisco. After meeting with Cashman on Sunday and Monday in Las Vegas, Sabathia called Tuesday to ask Cashman to come and meet with him and his wife in California. With expected offers from the Giants and Angels not forthcoming, Sabathia told Cashman he had decided he wanted to be a Yankee.

Details were still being worked out this morning, but Sabathia will be taking a physical shortly, and an announcement is expected sometime within the next week.

Meanwhile, the Yankees continue to pursue other free-agent pitchers, with A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe at the top of their list. Ben Sheets is another free-agent starting pitcher at whom they're considering a run. But Sabathia was their priority all along -- all of their other pitching plans were secondary to their efforts to land the 2007 American League Cy Young Award winner. Now, it appears they've pulled it off.

Sabathia's decision was first reported by the New York Post on its web site.


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