The two most similar pitchers to C.C. Sabathia in major league history, according to Baseball Reference, are Andy Pettitte and Mike Mussina, both Yankees stalwarts. Pettitte taught Sabathia the cutter late in his career. Mussina knew he needed it.

If not the cutter, Sabathia would surely need something else to extend his career. Mussina explained this over lunch in 2016 as he retraced his own career path.

“It’s not the first half of your career that gets you to a big number, it’s how do you do after that,” he said. “When I left Baltimore and went to New York, my career wasn’t going to be about what I did in Baltimore. If my career was going to amount to more than 150 wins, it was going to be about what I did in New York.

“Can I still go out there and do the same job I did, without the same level of talent, because I’m older? Can I still do it when I’m 32, 34, 36? And that’s the same question all these other guys are asking. Sabathia was lights-out. When you’re not lights-out anymore, can you still win 12, 13, 15?”