Former New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia was inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday, and on the first ballot.
The big lefty turned in a career for the ages, finishing with 251 career wins, 3.74 ERA, and 3,093 strikeouts in a career that began in Cleveland with a pitstop in Milwaukee before he signed with New York as a free agent. Sabathia won his only Cy Young in Cleveland in 2007, but his lone World Series with the Yankees in 2009. His lone 20-plus win season? That would be 2010, when he led MLB with 21.
Now, there’s only one thing left for the New York Yankees to do: Retire CC Sabathia’s number 52.
I know, I know. The Yankees have too many retired numbers as it is. We’re almost at the point where players may need to start wearing fractions or decimals on their backs. Or, you know, maybe the Yankees can un-retire some numbers and deal with the shitstorm.
But CC Sabathia is an exception. The man didn’t just sign with the Yankees in 2009, but negotiated an extension after the 2011 season to keep him in pinstripes through 2016. He then signed three more one-year deals to stay with the Yankees before retiring after the 2019 season.
And even then, though Sabathia was planning to retire regardless, he pitched until he literally could not anymore. His final appearance came in Game 4 of the 2019 ALCS against Houston, as a reliever. Sabathia blew out his shoulder in the middle of pitching to George Springer, and that was the ballgame. A season in which he hit the disabled list with knee pain several times, ended because his arm finally told him to stop.
Simply put, CC Sabathia was a gamer. Even as he lost his velocity with age, he still showed up to eat some innings. He pitched at least 150 frames in all but two seasons: In 2014 when his bad knee was at its worst and limited him to 46 innings, and in his final season at age 38.
What’s more, once he accepted he couldn’t blow hitters away with his fastball anymore, Sabathia changed his approach and extended his career. He learned how to throw a cut fastball, and then paired his slider and sinker with the cutter. Out with the strikeouts, in with pinpoint control and soft contact.
Now that we’ve outlined the baseball reasons for retiring CC Sabathia’s number 52, let’s get into the more important ones. The intangibles. Leadership that can really only be seen up close as a player, or from just close enough from the fan’s perspective.
For the first half of his Yankees career, CC Sabathia was surrounded by legends. The Captain and fellow Hall of Famer, Derek Jeter. Once-in-a-generation closer Mariano Rivera. The stone-faced Andy Pettitte and fiery Jorge Posada. Alex Rodriguez and everything he brought to the table, warts and all.
Come 2015? Those guys were all gone. CC Sabathia and Brett Gardner were the official Yankees elder statesmen. It wasn’t an easy time for several reasons, but Sabathia came out the other side and jumped into his new leadership role head first. This man loved his team so much that he intentionally threw at a Tampa Bay Rays hitter, was ejected, cursed the Rays’ dugout with a now infamous line, and cost himself a $500,000 innings bonus.
The Yankees paid him anyway.
Even today, more than five years after retiring and his eldest son, Li’l C, starting his own baseball journey, CC Sabathia remains revered in Yankeeland. A king among kings, yet he’ll downplay the crown. The warrior on the field, gentle giant off of it.
The Vallejo, California-born Sabathia has come a long way since tossing grapefruits in his grandmother’s backyard. He could have gone home after retirement, but still lives in the New York area today. Both he and his wife Amber, now building her own empire as an agent, embody the interlocking NY on and off the field.
He got his due in Cooperstown. Let’s honor CC Sabathia in Monument Park next.
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