After finishing two games behind the NL Central Champion Chicago Cubs the year before, the Milwaukee Brewers were desperately looking to get over the proverbial hump and reach the postseason for the first time since 1982.
Playing in the shadows of a relentless rival Cubs team, the Brewers were hovering near the .500 mark throughout the first half of the 2008 season.
On July 7, General Manager Doug Melvin dealt four prospects to Cleveland in exchange for the American League's Cy Young Award winner from a year prior.
The Brewers welcomed Carsten Charles 'CC' Sabathia to Milwaukee, embracing the southpaw as the season's potential savior.
Prior to the trade, Sabathia had gone just 6-8 with the Indians in 2008 after a slow start to the season. However, the trade would prove to rejuvenate both Sabathia and the Brewers.
Determined to get his team to the postseason, Sabathia took the baseball world by storm while carrying the Brewers on his back. He was a dominant force as Milwaukee's ace, turning in one brilliant outing after another, including a controversial one-hitter on August 31 at Pittsburgh. Sabathia was a workhorse down the stretch, pitching on three-days rest throughout the month of September.
The final game of the regular season proved to decide Milwaukee's fate in 2008.
On Septeber 28, Sabathia toed the rubber against the repeating NL Central Champion Cubs. CC was characteristically dominant, allowing one unearned run while striking out seven en route to his seventh complete game with Milwaukee and tenth of the season, the most in the majors since 1999. The dramatic victory was highlighted by an eighth inning, three-run home run from Ryan Braun.
Following their victory, Brewers players and fans awaited the outcome between the Marlins and Mets in the final game at Shea Stadium. The Marlins would be victorious, as Mets outfielder Ryan Church flew out to Cameron Maybin in center, sealing the 4-2 final.
Milwaukee had clinched the 2008 National League Wild Card. Brewers fans across the map collectively raised a glass. The wait was over.
Though the Brewers bowed to the eventual World Champion Philadelphia Phillies in a four-game NLDS, Milwaukee had ended its postseason drought at 26 years.
In 17 regular season starts with Milwaukee, Sabathia compiled an 11-2 record and seven complete games while maintaining a 1.65 ERA.
Following the season, Sabathia signed a seven-year, $161 million contract with the New York Yankees. CC has since signed an extension with his club, keeping the southpaw in pinstripes through 2016.
Sabathia will take the mound against Kyle Lohse and the Brewers in game two of a three-game interleague set at Miller Park. Sabathia has endured a slow start to this season, going 3-4 with a 5.75 ERA thus far.
In his career, Sabathia has compiled 208 wins and 2,433 strikeouts in 2,816 innings pitched. The 33-year-old lefty has been a consistent force atop starting rotations while putting together a career worthy of Cooperstown consideration.
Despite only wearing a Brewers uniform for parts of four months, CC Sabathia made a larger-than-life impact and and left his legacy in Milwaukee. Taking nothing away from his mates in '08, that Milwaukee team does not reach the postseason without the services of #52.
Raise a glass, Brewers fans, to CC Sabathia.
Thank you for reading,
Barrel Man
