C.C. Sabathia Forgoes $500K Bonus Defending A Teammate

Had veteran New York Yankees pitcher C.C. Sabathia made it through seven innings of Thursday's contest against the Tampa Bay Rays, he would have been awarded a $500,000 incentive-based bonus.

But instead, the left-handed pitcher made a conscious decision to defend teammate Austin Romine.

In an increasingly heated four-game series, Rays pitcher Andrew Kittredge targeted Romine and just missed hitting his head in the top of the sixth inning. Sabathia was visibly frustrated, stepping out of the dugout while head coach Aaron Boone held him back.

The 10-year Yankee pitcher stepped to the mound in the following inning and threw a 93 MPH fastball into Tampa Bay catcher Jesus Sucre's left thigh. Sabathia was immediately ejected from the game, but it didn't stop him from cursing and barking "that’s for you" at the Rays' dugout.

Here's a video of the pitch and his ejection:

—YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 27, 2018

"I don't really make decisions based on money, I guess," Sabathia said after the game. "Just felt like it was the right thing to do."

To be fair, the $500,000 deficit will not make too much of a difference for Sabathia, who has earned more than $252 million over the course of his career in the MLB. Still, the 38-year-old may have devoted his final pitch in Yankee pinstripes to retaliating on Romine's behalf.

Questions were surrounding Sabathia's return for this season, and while the southpaw has indicated an interest in playing beyond the year, his future with the franchise remains uncertain.

"I'm [going] start to start," Sabathia told Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com in July. "I go out one start and feel like I can pitch five more years. I go out another start and I'm [feeling] done. But if I can stay healthy -- if my knee holds up -- hopefully I'll play one more."

New York manager Aaron Boone—who was thrown out alongside Sabathia—understood his starting pitcher's decision, even though the Yankees were leading by 11 runs at the time.

"There's no question there was intent. You've had some guys hit this series, and then you throw one over the head? Just kick rocks. I hated it," Boone said. "If you're going to play that game and you start messing around with people's heads, we're going to take exception to that."

Many of Sabathia's teammates supported his actions as well:

—YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 27, 2018

—YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 27, 2018

—YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 27, 2018

—YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 27, 2018