C.C. Sabathia Documentary ‘Under The Grapefruit Tree: The C.C. Sabathia Story’ is Must Watch

An HBO documentary centered on the life of former Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia was released yesterday. I am giving it the “must watch” tag, but not because it featured clips of his World Series win and 3,000th strikeout.

The 67-minute film dove into Sabathia’s home life, starting from his childhood of throwing grapefruits at a folding chair in his grandmother’s backyard (hence “Under The Grapefruit Tree”) and all the way through his post-career daily life. Most of all, the film covered C.C.’s struggle with alcohol addiction and the impact it had on his marriage, family, job, and relationships throughout his playing career.

“I don’t think people realize how close I came to losing everything.”

- C.C. Sabathia

Sabathia entered a rehab facility in 2015 to overcome his alcohol abuse problems. He cited a team trip to Baltimore where he was too drunk to throw a bullpen session as the moment he realized rehab was necessary.

The documentary also included moments from the former Yankee’s final season in baseball. His career culminated with a devastating shoulder injury during the 2019 Postseason, but it was representative of what it would take to get C.C. off the mound for good. It needed to be impossible to return. Tune into HBO or HBO Max to watch the full film.