By Chris Kirschner
Jan 22, 2025On Tuesday night, Carsten Charles “CC” Sabathia Jr. was named a first-ballot honoree to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, where he’ll be immortalized among the game’s greatest players. Sabathia’s next honor should be a spot beyond the center-field wall at Yankee Stadium in Monument Park, where his legacy can be displayed next to the greatest New York Yankees in franchise history.
Sabathia, who spent 11 years with New York, will enter Cooperstown with a Yankees cap on his plaque. However, that alone doesn’t mean a player gets his number retired or a plaque from the Yankees. Jack Chesbro, Earle Combs, Joe Gordon, Waite Hoyt, Tony Lazzeri and Herb Pennock are all in the Hall of Fame with Yankees caps, but none have any recognition in Monument Park.
The Yankees signed Sabathia to a seven-year, $161 million contract before the 2009 season, and he immediately led the franchise to a title as their ace. He was named the 2009 MVP of the American League Championship Series and finished his Yankees career with the 10th-most wins and fourth-most strikeouts. He finished his career with 251 wins and 3,093 strikeouts. Only two other left-handed pitchers, Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton, had more wins and strikeouts than Sabathia.
“The minute he walked into our clubhouse, it felt like we were a championship team,” Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees’ third baseman in 2009, said at Old Timers’ Day this past summer. “He was exactly what we needed. He’s someone who makes everybody better but also makes everybody happier. And that’s a rare combination.”
Bronx Legend.
Baseball Great.
1st Ballot Hall of Famer. pic.twitter.com/ryvjxEEaDR— New York Yankees (@Yankees) January 22, 2025
Not only was Sabathia one of the greatest pitchers of his generation, but he consistently put the Yankees ahead of himself. In 2018, he sacrificed a $500,000 bonus to stick up for backup catcher Austin Romine, who was nearly plunked in the head by a pitch from Tampa Bay Rays reliever Andrew Kittredge. After intentionally hitting Jesus Sucre, Sabathia famously walked off the mound, pointed at Kittredge in the Rays’ dugout and mouthed, “That’s for you, bitch.”
“I was so upset and so mad,” Sabathia recalled Tuesday night. “Brett Gardner was sitting next to me on the bench, and he was like, ‘Don’t do it.’ I was like, ‘Be ready to drop your glove and come into the infield. Be ready to fight.’”
The moment that most encapsulated what kind of teammate Sabathia was while in pinstripes happened in 2019 when he pitched until he physically couldn’t anymore. His Yankees and MLB career ended in the ALCS when he walked off the field with trainer Steve Donohue after his shoulder popped out of his socket.
“As a leader, CC led by example, demonstrating courage, resilience and integrity in the face of adversity — literally leaving it all out on the field,” Yankees captain Aaron Judge said in a statement. “As a teammate, CC was the ultimate glue that held us together, celebrating our successes and supporting us through our challenges. His legacy extends far beyond his accomplishments, as he’s left an indelible mark on the lives of everyone who got the opportunity to share the field with him.”
After four down years from 2013-2016 with the Yankees as a degenerative knee condition sapped his ability to pitch like his once dominant self, Sabathia revitalized his career. He learned how to throw a cutter with the help of Andy Pettitte. Sabathia’s dominance came from a mid-90s fastball and devastating slider earlier in his career but he learned how to be crafty in his twilight years, with his velocity sitting in the high 80s. Sabathia nearly carried the Baby Bomber-era Yankees to the World Series in 2017 with his 2.37 ERA across four postseason starts, but it wasn’t enough as the Houston Astros beat the veteran in Game 7 of the ALCS. Sabathia’s eight postseason wins rank fourth all-time in franchise history, and his 97 strikeouts rank fifth.
When Sabathia finalized his decision on wanting to enter the Hall of Fame as a Yankee, he said it wasn’t a decision that required much thought. There wasn’t much debate with his wife, Amber — his heart is with the Yankees.
The Cleveland Guardians inducted him into their Hall of Fame this year and dedicated a baseball field in their city in his honor named “CC Sabathia Field at Luke Easter Park.” But to this day, Sabathia can still be spotted at Yankee Stadium, relishing any opportunity he gets to talk with the current club.
“This is home,” Sabathia said on Tuesday of New York. “I found a home in the Bronx. I don’t think I’ll ever leave this city.”
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, who has the final say on deciding who belongs in Monument Park, said in a statement that Sabathia “embodied the best of what it means to be a Yankee.”
With Sabathia now having a forever home in Cooperstown, Steinbrenner should make sure the Bronx also remains the ace’s home for eternity.