The New York Yankees announced last week that CC Sabathia’s No. 52 will be retired this season, with a plaque in his honor set to be dedicated prior to their Sept. 26 game against the Orioles.
The 19-year Major League Baseball pitcher spent 11 seasons with the Yankees and retired with the club in 2019. The MLB wins leader in 2009 and 2010, he was voted 2009 ALCS MVP en route to helping New York win a World Series. A three-time All-Star with the Yankees (six overall), he finished with 251 wins, 3,093 strikeouts, and won the AL Cy Young Award in 2007. Last year, Sabathia was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
None of that means much to longtime New York Post columnist and perennial stick-firmly-lodged-up-his-butt champion Phil Mushnick. The ornery curmudgeon whose entire Wikipedia page is a list of professional feuds, penned his thoughts about the Yankees retiring Sabathia’s number in a paywalled column. We’re not going to pay money to read something Phil Mushnick wrote in the year 2026, but given the headline, “Yankees retiring CC Sabathia’s number shows the sad state of our standard for greatness,” we think we get the gist.
Sabathia, who makes media appearances on MLB Network, caught wind of Muchnick’s dig and offered a courteous and unbothered response on X.
“Ah damn Phil sorry you feel that way…see you 9/26/26,” wrote Sabathia, following it up with four laugh-crying emojis.
We’re guessing Mushnick won’t be in attendance that day, but the point stands.
Regardless of what the Post columnist thinks, Sabathia remains in high demand. Netflix reportedly wants him and Barry Bonds in the booth for their first baseball telecast when the Giants and Yankees open the 2026 season at Oracle Park.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.