CC kept pitching through pain right until the very end

CC Sabathia didn’t need his left shoulder to collapse on the mound late in Game 4 of the ALCS on Thursday against the Astros at Yankee Stadium for people to show their feelings for the big lefty.

The general feeling throughout baseball on Friday was that if you don’t like Sabathia, you must not enjoy ice cream.

After the 2018 season, Sabathia announced this would be the final year of a career that will someday land him in the Hall of Fame. A balky right knee gave him problems all season and then his left shoulder barked in September and led to him being kept off the ALDS roster against the Twins.

He made enough progress to be part of the ALCS staff and made his second relief outing against the Astros in the eighth inning of Game 4. Sabathia faced four batters, and after throwing a ball on a 1-1 pitch to George Springer, was removed from the game with a left shoulder injury the Yankees called a subluxation, though Sabathia said he wouldn’t know until he underwent an MRI exam.

As Sabathia was escorted off the mound by trainer Steve Donohue, he was making his final walk in a big league uniform with his left arm, which produced 251 wins and 3,093 strikeouts in 19 seasons, limp and pinned to his side.

“I threw until I couldn’t anymore,” Sabathia said Friday, when he was removed from the ALCS roster, preventing him from pitching in a potential World Series appearance, and was replaced by Ben Heller

Tributes to the 39-year-old poured in from all baseball precincts Thursday evening and continued Friday.

“In a way it is kind of a perfect way [to leave]. We talk about him being the greatest teammate and this person we all revere so much,’’ manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees, trailing 3-1, extended their season with a 4-1 win in Game 5 in The Bronx. “He left it all out there. He gave us everything he had. Even though it is sad to see him walking out but there is something kind of awesome to it in a weird way, too.’’

Sabathia felt so good recently that the injury might be a blessing. In July he told his wife, Amber, he might have wanted to attempt a comeback.

Keeping with that thinking, Sabathia said there was no sign of discomfort warming in the bullpen or against the first three hitters he faced.

“I had no pain. I’ve been feeling good the last week, 10 days, whatever. Arm has been feeling fresh, everything has been feeling good,’’ Sabathia said.

And then his shoulder started to ache.

Sabathia threw three pitches to Springer and walked to the side of the mound. After talking to Donohue, Sabathia went back on the mound and threw one a warm-up toss that told him he was done.