Every athlete has a time in their lives when their body becomes a warning rather than a tool. For CC Sabathia, that moment came during a routine workout with his longtime trainer Dave Paladino in a gym rather than on a pitcher’s mound in front of thousands of spectators. Paladino abruptly stopped Sabathia as he was having difficulty during the session. “Bro, you’re white,” Paladino informed him. “You need to go get checked out.” It sounded a lot like a joke. It was not at all like that.
After that session, Sabathia went to the hospital, where medical professionals discovered a 90% blockage in an artery leading to his heart. He was unable to even finish a typical stress test. The winningest pitcher to debut in the twenty-first century, who once stood six feet six inches tall and threw 342 pounds of left-handed fury at opponents for almost twenty years, required a stent simply to keep his heart healthy. That’s the kind of terrifying that stays with you for a long time.
Naturally, the mythology of Sabathia had always included the weight. He weighed about 340 pounds at his heaviest, a statistic that caused both amazement and worry throughout his career. He had a physical presence on the mound that few hitters enjoyed dealing with, and there were times when his size seemed to work for him. Then there were the more subdued worries, like his family’s history of heart disease and hypertension and the additional stress on his already severely damaged knees every fifth day. Although it’s difficult to tell now if Sabathia really thought he played better at a larger size or if he just told himself that.
Over the years, he made incremental efforts. He reportedly lost 25 pounds prior to spring training in 2011 after eliminating cereal from his daily diet—a detail so strangely specific that it sticks with you. In 2018, he attempted a vegan diet to expedite his recuperation from knee surgery. The heart blockage that December made it clear that none of it was sufficient.
It wasn’t until he permanently quit baseball following the 2019 season that the true metamorphosis started. Sabathia seems to have discovered something more akin to true motivation in the absence of a pitching schedule to build a year around and the psychological strain of competing at the top level of professional sport. He dedicated six days a week to his training. When images of the outcomes appeared in May 2020 during the COVID lockdown, people were truly taken aback. The arms that had produced more than 3,000 career strikeouts now resembled those of a former football player, which Sabathia was in high school.
Paladino, his trainer, has worked on other well-known makeovers, such as rapper Action Bronson’s incredible physical makeover. The strategy used with Sabathia leaned toward traditional hypertrophy exercises, such as hammer curls supersetting with nearly everything, cable curls, rope pushdowns, and triceps kickbacks, at least during the maintenance phase that followed the initial weight loss. Nothing unusual. Just a steady, concentrated effort that is repeated over several months and eventually years.
It’s worth taking a moment to consider that. This man struggled for years despite having access to top-notch nutritionists, team doctors, and cutting-edge training facilities. After he retired and the external pressures of competing at the highest level of professional sports subsided, he underwent the transformation that ultimately stuck. Sometimes it seems like the drive to truly get healthy doesn’t come until the career that was consuming your body is finally over.
Additionally, he became sober, which he has discussed in public and which probably had a significant impact on changing his way of life and how he felt about his body. Though it’s likely more significant, that aspect of the story typically receives fewer headlines than the arm muscles.
Now in his mid-forties, Sabathia is co-hosting his podcast and leading what seems to be a calmer, healthier life than the one he led while playing professional baseball for twenty years. It’s still unclear if the transformation will go as planned, especially in light of his heart history. However, it’s difficult to ignore the fact that a man who previously required a heart stent has completely rebuilt himself. Regardless of what lies ahead, that counts for something important.
FAQs
1. What triggered CC Sabathia’s decision to lose weight?
A 90% arterial blockage requiring a heart stent in December 2018 forced the change.
2. How much weight did CC Sabathia lose after retirement?
He shed over 50 pounds following his 2019 MLB retirement.
3. How often does CC Sabathia train now?
He works out six days per week.
4. What did his trainer say that sent him to the hospital?
Paladino told him he looked pale and needed immediate medical attention.
5. What does CC Sabathia do after his baseball career?
He co-hosts the R2C2 podcast on Spotify.
