C.C. Sabathia departing from his team and the playoffs on Monday sent a shockwave through the sporting world. And a day after his decision, the Yankees fell short of the Astros 3-0 in Tuesday’s American League Wild Card game.

Sabathia’s departure had little to no effect on the Yankees poor performance. Dallas Keuchel can be thanked for that.

Initially, this whole ordeal didn’t look too well on the surface. Here we have the team’s biggest locker room presence and leader departing from the team just one day before their biggest game of the season. But Sabathia made the right decision.

Sabathia clearly was battling an issue that was getting the best of him. Maybe it was winning the best of his family and his ability to play baseball. Maybe it was winning his integrity as a man.

Sabathia is to be respected and applauded for his decision. It takes a lot of humanity and amiability to make that decision on that stage.