CC Sabathia’s decision to wear a New York Yankees hat on the plaque that will adorn the walls of the Baseball Hall of Fame was not a difficult one.
The domineering pitcher who spent 19 seasons in Major League Baseball, first with Cleveland for six and then with the Milwaukee Brewers for one of the most incredible half-season runs ever by a trade-deadline acquisition, spent 11 seasons with the Yankees after signing in free agency prior to the 2009 season.
“The Yankees was a place that wanted me. I signed here as a free agent,” Sabathia said. “I’ve been here now for 16 years. I’ve loved the other organizations that I played in. I don’t think I’d be sitting here today if I wasn’t drafted by the Cleveland organization. I’m very thankful to Milwaukee for trading for me and having that run that I had there, but this is home. I found a home in the Bronx, and I don’t think I’ll ever leave this city.”
Technically, the decision of which cap a Hall of Famer wears on his plaque is not up to the player. It is actually the Hall of Fame’s call, though most of the time, they will work with the player to come to that decision. This process was put in place to avoid instances like Dave Winfield’s Hall of Fame induction when the San Diego Padres paid him $1 million to have their cap featured on his plaque in 2001.
There should be no issues coming to the conclusion that Sabathia is a Yankee through and through, though.
The bulk of the southpaw’s Hall-of-Fame resume was achieved with the Yankees. He won 134 of his 251 games in Pinstripes while amassing 1,700 of his 3,093 strikeouts in the Bronx.
While he ranks fourth in franchise history in punchouts, he is only the third left-handed pitcher in MLB history to attain 3,000 strikeouts.
A 2007 Cy Young Award winner with Cleveland, Sabathia put together a remarkable run in the second half of the 2008 campaign after he was traded to the Brewers, going 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA across 17 starts to help the franchise end a 26-year postseason drought.
He followed that up by donning the role of ace with the Yankees after signing with them, helping them win a World Series in 2009 that has turned out to be the franchise’s most recent title. That year, he went 19-8 with a 3.37 ERA, followed by 21 wins and a 3.18 ERA in 2010.
In his first year on the ballot, Sabathia received 86.8% of the vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), comfortably clearing the 75% threshold. Alongside Seattle Mariners legend Ichiro, who fell one vote shy of unanimity on Tuesday night, Sabathia is the fourth first-ballot inductee in the last two years.
“It means a lot to be in the Hall of Fame, period,” Sabathia said. “But first-ballot, I know what that means as a baseball player. It’s very special.”
Kcassman