Sabathia likely to retire if Yankees win World Series

CC Sabathia will likely call it quits if his New York Yankees win it all this year.

"I want one more parade and pretty sure that will be it," the 18-year MLB veteran told George A. King III of the New York Post. "I thought I had it last year."

In 2017, the final year of Sabathia's five-year, $125-million extension, the Yankees stormed their way to a wild-card berth only to be ousted in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series by the Houston Astros, the eventual World Series champions. So, this winter, the 37-year-old - who won a World Series title with New York back in 2009 - inked a new one-year, $10-million contract to help the Yankees finish the job.

"You always want that feeling. It feels like 20 seasons (ago)," the left-hander said of the Yankees' title in 2009. "That's all you play for."

Widely viewed as a World Series favorite following their busy offseason, the Yankees have turned things on of late, erasing any memories of their uninspired 9-9 start with 15 wins in their last 16 contests. From the get-go, though, Sabathia has been terrific, crafting a 1.39 ERA (321 ERA+) and 0.87 WHIP with a 4.60 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his first six starts of 2018.

Now, everyone in the Yankees' clubhouse is thinking championship, said Sabathia, a six-time All-Star and one-time American League Cy Young award winner.

"That's the only thing you think of after you win the first one, you think about the next one," Sabathia said. "Everyone around here is itching for the next one."