Posted by Andrew Drennen

When C.C. Sabathia of the Milwaukee Brewers didn't cleanly field a cue shot off the bat of Andy LaRoche on Aug. 31, he lost his bid for a no-hitter.  The Brewers appealed the official scorer's decision about the play, but Major League Baseball ruled in against them. Sabathia is 9-0 for the Brewers on the season and is in the running for the NL Cy-Young.  

	AP Photo/Darren Hauck
	CC Sabathia was a three sport star in high school.

Back in high school Sabathia was a three-sport star.  Not only did he play baseball for his Vallejo High School team, but he saw time on the hardwood and on the gridiron.  The three sport star was named the Cal-Hi Sports Boys Athlete of the Year.

The following was written by Mark Tennis, Deputy Editor of ESPN RISE, back in June of 1998.

California Athlete of the Year showed pride in how he handled success

There've been athletes like Sabathia before. Big, strong individuals who are quick and skilled enough to play tight end in football and power forward in basketball. Most of those types then go on to either throw the shot or discus in track.

But Sabathia's throwing was with a little white ball. In fact, he throws a baseball with such velocity and precision (as well as hits it a long way as a batter) that the Cleveland Indians made him their first pick (20th overall) in the recent major league draft.

"Everybody looks at him at 6-6, 250 and is amazed at the things he can do," said Abe Hobbs, Vallejo's baseball coach. "But even if he was 6-0, 190 he'd be phenomenal. A kid that big with the athleticism he has is pretty impressive."

Sabathia was recently named State Boys Athlete of the Year for California by Cal-Hi Sports. That was based on his 27 catches (five for touchdowns) and 13 quarterback sacks in football, his leadership and team-leading rebounding total for a 32-2 basketball team that nearly made it to the Div. I state finals, and his baseball accomplishments. Sabathia had a 9-1 pitching record with a 0.90 ERA and also hit seven home runs, including one prodigious blast at a minor league ballpark in Stockton that was estimated at 450 feet.

"He knew he was going to be much-watched during the season when the baseball scouts came to basketball games to check out his weight and his athleticism," Hobbs said. "He handled everything in stride. He's just such a low-key kid."

What impressed some people more than any athletic ability possessed by Sabathia was how he responded to a paralyzing injury to baseball teammate James McClanahan. The younger player would've been a starter for the Apaches at shortstop, but was seriously hurt in an auto accident. He still attended nearly all of the games this season in a wheelchair.

"The first person who went over to (McClanahan) and then pushed him around in his chair was C.C.," recalled Sacramento sportswriter Joe Davidson. "He was the obvious leader of that team, but has a lot of humbleness about him."

It could therefore be said that the former Apache and future Indian is very brave, too.