As the 2019 season wound down and C.C. Sabathia approached the finish line of a 19-year career , he often imagined what his final appearance in Yankee Stadium would look and sound like: a long, loving ovation from the crowd as he strode off the mound.

It would be the proper show of appreciation not just for Sabathia’s 251 career wins and 3,000-plus strikeouts, but for the good will he has generated throughout the big leagues. Loved by his teammates, admired by his opponents, Sabathia indeed got that ovation Thursday night in the Bronx, even from the Houston Astros in the visitors’ dugout and George Springer in the on-deck circle — but not for the reasons he had hoped. Nothing, in fact, went according to plan.

Sabathia entered in the eighth inning, relieving Adam Ottavino as the Yankees were being throttled in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. After throwing 16 pitches, feeling some twinges along the way, Sabathia was done in by the 17th, wincing in pain as he walked in a dazed circle behind the rubber. Yankees Manager Aaron Boone and the trainer Steve Donohue rushed to the mound, as did the Yankees infielders. Sabathia tried one more practice pitch before the verdict was cemented: the beloved left-hander’s career had just abruptly ended.

On Friday, the day after their dreary 8-3 loss to the Astros, the Yankees announced Sabathia had sustained a subluxation, or partial dislocation, of his left shoulder and would be replaced on the roster by the right-hander Ben Heller. But even before the move, Boone’s postgame prognosis had made the situation clear: “We’ve got to see more about it, but not good,” he said.