I knew CC Sabathia was no small fry. He was rockin’ the XXXXL girth long before we left the States in the autumn of 2009.

But I had no idea he had become this enormous, this huge, this gordo.

The vision of CC’s bulk — has a fatter man ever played in a major league game? — comes at a time during a national debate about “how fat is too fat?” focused on a potential candidate for president.

The chubby politician is Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey, who is considering a run for the Republican nomination.

Pundits have suggested that a man carrying that much extra weight does not have the self-discipline to be president, an idea that a New York Times op-ed contributor tried to knock down, in this piece.

I’m not sure extra weight should disqualify a person from being president (just as a cigarette habit, perhaps another indication of a “lack of self-discipline”) should not. Chris Christie is fat; Barack Obama is still sneaking smokes.

But back to baseball and CC Sabathia.

CC is paid to perform in a physical role. Not to ponder the weighty issues of our day.

He admits to 290 pounds (on a 6-foot-7 frame), but I’m going to guess that he hasn’t seen 290 in a very long time. I’d say that these days, Roman numerically speaking, he’s more like CCCC Sabathia. (OK, technically CD, but CCCC is more fun.)

How is it possible that the extra weight he is carrying (another guess: 100 pounds more than is good for him) possibly help him compete as a pitcher?

We can make a case that interior football linemen need to be what would be considered “fat” in an objective view. It’s harder to move a 300-pounder than a 275-pounder, which is why every defensive tackle in the NFL has some goo hanging over his belt.

But what benefit does Sabathia’s extra 100 pounds give him as a pitcher?

I’m thinking “none”. If anything, the extra weight must hurt his stamina. Sabathia has a reputation for throwing lots of innings, and pitching on short rest, but that would seem to be despite being overweight, not because of it.

Is he the fattest star ever? Could be. Sabathia clearly is fatter than Babe Ruth was at the end of his career. He’s fatter than Jonathan Broxton ever was.

ESPN.com has an interesting list of fat ballplayers here, and yes, I remember most of those guys. Cecil Fielder (not to mention Prince Fielder), Boog Powell, Gates Brown. And even Terry Forster, onetime Dodgers closer who famously said, “A waist is a terrible thing to mind.”

But none are as enormo as CC Sabathia is right now. It isn’t healthy. And it can’t make him a better pitcher. I’m a little surprised we haven’t heard more about this, given that Sabathia pitches in New York. But maybe when he’s gaining incrementally, and you see him all the time, it isn’t really as noticeable as it might be if you’re living in, say, Abu Dhabi, UAE, and you go months without seeing a picture of the guy and you find yourself saying, “Wow. That guy is out of control.”

Some disclosure. I am not a skinny person. Pretty much never have been one. I could afford to lose 20 pounds. But, too, I don’t play sports for a living.

As long as Sabathia is going to be a professional athlete, he owes it to himself and his employers to reduce the paunch. With all the professional help he could get these days from trainers and nutritionists, it has to be doable. And I’m sure he would rather be remembered as an ace pitcher and not the Pillsbury Doughboy of baseball.