Sober Sabathia

CC Sabathia pens a very open account of how he developed into an alcoholic, and why he picked the moment he did to enter rehabilitation:

Honestly, it would have been easier in a lot of ways if I had waited — I would have drawn much less attention to myself. But if I didn’t enter rehab right away, I knew I wouldn’t go through with it. With addictions, it takes so much effort to convince yourself to do something to fix the problem, but it’s very easy to talk yourself out of going through with it.

Of course, the timing wasn’t the best for the Yankees and the fans, but that wasn’t my main concern. When I decided to get help, I wasn’t scared anymore of what people would think of me. I was scared of drinking again. So many of the major choices in my life, going back to when I was just a kid, have been baseball decisions. But this was a life decision.

Bob Welch‘s book, Five O’clock Comes Early, helped Sabathia, as Welch and Sabathia shared both early success and early drinking problems. The essay is well worth the read.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/1R3VGNt