CC Sabathia announces he'll stay with Yankees, wishes fans Happy Halloween in :22 video

via Star Ledger, 10/31/11: "CC Sabathia announced tonight that he has signed a new contract to remain with the Yankees. According to a person with knowledge of the talks, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly, Sabathia's new deal pays him a guaranteed $122 million over the next five years, and includes a $25 million option for 2017.

The vesting option, the language of which is complex, is essentially tied to the left-hander's health. If Sabathia is healthy, the option for 2017 would be automatically triggered.

Sabathia had until 11:59 p.m. tonight to opt out of his original deal but instead announced via his Twitter feed tonight that he has chosen to sign a new deal without invoking the clause in his contract.

For the Yankees, the move represents perhaps their biggest of the offseason, keeping Sabathia in the fold after his three seasons as the team's pitching ace.

Sabathia taped a 22 second video addressing fans. His comments:

“Happy Halloween, everybody. I just wanted to be the first to let Yankee fans know that we agreed to a contract extension. I'll be coming back in 2012. I want to thank the Steinbrenner family for making that happen. My goal the whole time was to be able to finish my career as a Yankee. Hopefully, I can do that. We seem like we got that accomplished today, so I look forward to seeing everybody out at the ballpark next year.”" via Zoodig,

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