Carsten Charles (CC) Sabathia Jr. is only a few days away from immortality, with his Baseball Hall of Fame induction only a little over a week away. The ceremony will be held on July 27, 2025, in Cooperstown, NY, a quiet hamlet a few hours west of Albany, tucked away in the Catskills.
Sabathia had an incredible career: A 6-time All-Star (3 consecutive years, 2010-2012, with the Yankees), Cy Young winner (2007, Cleveland), 2009 ALCS MVP, 2009 World Series champion, MLB wins leader in 2009 & 2010, over 3,000 strikeouts (3,093) and 251 career victories. Sabathia also ended his career with a career ERA of 3.74 and a win-loss record of 251-161 (61%)
Originally drafted by the (then) Cleveland Indians in 1998 as their first round selection (20th overall), Sabathia made his Major League debut on April 8, 2001, as the youngest player in the Majors at 20 years old, where he pitched in 5-2/3 innings versus the Orioles, allowing 3 hits and 3 earned runs while walking 2 batters and striking out 3. Later in 2001, he would end up 2nd voting for the AL Rookie of the Year behind fellow Class of 2025 Hall of Famer, and former fellow Yankee, Ichiro Suzuki.
Sabathia had an incredible career with the Indians over the course of the next 7 years, amassing an ERA of 3.83 and 1,265 strikeouts in 1528-2/3 innings of work over 237 games, including being named to the All-Star team 3 times (2003, 2004, 2007).
Sabathia spent one year in Milwaukee after being traded by the Indians on July 7, 2008, helping the Brewers clinch the NL Wild Card by pitching a complete-game against the Cubs, allowing only 4 hits, a walk and a run, while striking out 7 batters. He only pitched in one postseason game that year, allowing 5 runs (all earned) on 6 hits, 4 walks and a home run in 3-2/3 innings pitched. However, despite that poor postseason showing, Sabathia recorded a 2.70 ERA in 35 starts between both Cleveland and Milwaukee going into free agency.
The Yankees signed Sabathia to a seven-year, $161 million contract on December 18, 2008, the largest contract for a pitcher in MLB history (at the time). It’s probably fair to say that most readers here can remember where they were when the deal was announced, and again when Sabathia was introduced to the media while wearing the Yankee Pinstripes for the first time.
Sabathia was the starter for the 2009 season, where he went on to pitch 230 innings, and recorded 197 strikeouts (a figure he would also record two more times over the next three years), while ending the regular season with a 3.37 ERA. In 36-1/3 innings of work in the 2009 postseason, Sabathia threw a 1.98 ERA, allowing only 8 earned runs, while striking out 32 batters. This led him to be named the 2009 ALCS MVP.
Sabathia’s best season with the Yankees was in 2011, where he tossed a neat 3 ERA in 237-1/3 innings pitched, while striking out 230 batters, the most strikeouts he would record in pinstripes. However, he was one of the most consistent starters the Yankees had during the 2010s. In 1688 innings between 2010 and 2019, Sabathia threw an ERA of 3.87 (725 ER), while recording 1,503 strikeouts (8.01 K/9) and 509 walks (2.71 BB/9).
Sabathia may be best known by Yankees fans for his “bulldog” attitude, though. He was nearly always fired up on the mound, and the Yankees haven’t had that kind of presence out there since he retired at the end of the 2019 season. Probably most memorably for fans was the moment in 2018 where Sabathia forwent a $500,000 bonus as a result of hitting Jesus Sucre after the Rays zipped a fastball by Austin Romine’s ear.
Ironically, Sabathia’s 3,000th strikeout came on former Yankees prospect John Ryan Murphy on April 30, 2019, the final year of the career. The Baseball Hall of Fame have a fantastic interview conducted by the BBHOF after that moment to read for those interested.
Since being retired, Yankees fans most commonly see Sabathia as an invited guest to Spring Training, where this past year, he met with current Yankees starters Carlos Rodón and Max Fried, along with retired starters Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. Sabathia works with pitchers during bullpens and stands behind the netting the Yankees place behind the mound on the main field at Steinbrenner Field with other guests and Yankees coaches.
During Sabathia’s media availability earlier this afternoon, he noted that right after he was named an inductee as part of this year’s class, he had to keep reminding himself why people were congratulating him, saying “Every time I see somebody they, like, they say, congratulations. And I’m like, “for what?” So, you know, just, you know, having that, you know, since January to now, you know, it’s kind of been like a celebration, you know? Every time you see somebody, it’s you know, “Congratulations”, and “How’s the speech coming along?” And so, you know, you get the daily reminder every day.”
Sabathia also noted about how he’s looking forward to Hall of Fame Weekend: “Um, you know, for me, it’s, uh, just exciting to be able to have my family there. Have so many different people from my hometown, um. So, I’m just I’m ready to be, you know, up there and be present. And you know, I’m not, you know, I have a lot of anxiety about the speech, obviously. If anybody knows me, I don’t like to really talk in front of people. So, a 10-minute speech in front of a crowd is gonna be, uh, interesting, but I’m ready to be in the moment and be excited and be with my family, and, and, uh, and celebrate the moment.”
Sabathia also stated that other Hall of Famers have been in contact with him lately, offering congratulations and other words, from teammate Derek Jeter, to Chipper Jones, whom he met in Atlanta during the All-Star festivities, to Ferguson Jenkins, Ken Griffey Jr. and Eddie Murray.
Sabathia also discussed what it meant to him to be a black ace pitcher and the third Black pitcher with 3,000 strikeouts, and how he’s helping the next generation of Black pitchers through The Players’ Alliance. Sabathia named Rays pitcher Taj Bradley, and Reds pitchers Chase Burns and Hunter Green, saying that he doesn’t want to be the last Black pitcher to win 20 games or last Black pitcher Hall of Famer and that he was excited to help motivate the next generation of Black starting pitchers.
Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe asked about his most memorable Yankees vs. Red Sox game, to which Sabathia noted “probably the Tyler Austin fight”.
Sabathia: “I remember, I feel like my kind of, like, “Welcome to the Yankees”, when I became a Yankee moment happened against the Red Sox, um, late in 2009, I had to start against them early August. It’s a big series. I think we were kind of chasing. I don’t think we were in first place yet. And I went out, I got through eight innings, gave up one run, and um. That picture that I that, you know, Ari (Ariele Goldman Hecht) took the Yankee photographer. It’s kind of like, my favorite picture, um, that I’ve had as a Yankee, you know, walking off, like, kind of being hyped, and um, I feel like that was my like, “Welcome to the Yankees”. I became a Yankee in that moment, so that that’s the the biggest moment I think I’ll take away from the rivalry was being able to have a big game, and you know, pitch well.”
“But yeah, I mean, I’m serious about the Tyler Austin fight because in 2000… I think that was in 2017, um, we had that fight with Boston, and then we had a, another fight with the Tigers in Detroit. And I was, you know that team was young. That was a young Aaron Judge, that was a young Gary Sanchez, and you know, after, we kind of, you know, took up for each other in those moments, I’m like, “Oh yeah, this team has a chance to be really good.” And you know, that was a year we went off to the ALCS, so play in game seven. So, um, you know, you have those moments, and it kind of brings you together. And you know, that moment we had in Boston 2017 with that team was one of those.”
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