(2013 Image: Getty/2009 Image: USA TODAY Sports)
CC Sabathia weighed over 300 pounds win the Yankees won the 2009 World Series. Over the course of the next four years, Sabathia shed a considerable amount of weight. In 2011, Sabathia said he lost 25 pounds after arthroscopic surgery. After 2012, Sabathia lost another 20 pounds. But as the 6-foot-7 pitcher has shed weight, he’s also lost velocity in his fastball.
According to Fangraphs, the hefty version of Sabathia threw a fastball that averaged 93.9 miles per hour in 2011. Two years later, that velocity dropped to 91.2 m.p.h.
Sabathia also conceded a career-high 28 home runs in 2013 and allowed more hits than innings pitched for the first time (224 to 211). The solution?
“He needs to gain 25 pounds back,” Lee Mazzone, ex-pitching coach for the Atlanta Braves, told the Times. “Somebody probably told him if he loses weight, he’ll have more longevity. Well guess what? I’d rather have effectiveness.”
