NEW YORK – At 4:05 p.m. ET on Tuesday, CC Sabathia wrote on X, The day “feels like Christmas Eve.” A little more than two hours later, it was more like Christmas day. Why? The Baseball Hall of Fame announced that Sabathia will be enshrined in Cooperstown on July 27th at the Clark Sports Center. He is expected to have the Yankees cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.
Sabathia received 86.8 percent of the votes cast by eligible members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and will go into the Hall alongside Ichiro Suzuki, Billy Wagner, Dick Allen [posthumously] and Dave Parker.
Sabathia was one of the greatest left-handers of his generation, a career that lasted 19 seasons from 2001-19. He won 251 games, captured the American League Cy Young Award in 2007 and appeared in six All-Star Games over the course of his career playing for the Indians, Brewers and Yankees. He is also one of three left-handers in history to record 3,000 strikeouts in a career — Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson are the others.
Sabathia is expected to be wearing a Yankees cap on his Hall of Fame plaque.
“The Yankees [are a team that wanted me]. I signed there as a free agent [after the 2008 season],” Sabathia said. “I’ve been in New York for 16 years. I love the other organizations I played in. I wouldn’t be sitting here today if I wasn’t drafted by the Cleveland organization. I’m very thankful for Milwaukee trading for me…. But I found a home in the Bronx. I don’t think I’ll ever leave the city. It’s only fitting.”
Sabathia credits his success on the mound to pitching coach Carl Willis, who helped Sabathia develop his delivery when both were in the Minor Leagues starting in 1998. It was Willis, in fact, who taught Sabathia how to throw a four-seam fastball and the slider, his money pitch.
“Everything that I learned as a pitcher – mental wise, delivery wise and even holding a baseball – Carl Willis is responsible,” Sabathia said.
Sabathia’s best work on the mound occurred during the second half of 2008 when he was with the Brewers and the following season as a member of the Bronx Bombers.
After the Indians traded him to Milwaukee during the middle of the ‘08 season, Sabathia found himself in the middle pennant race and was filthy, winning 11 games with a 1.65 ERA and still led the team Bwar [4.9].
In his final three starts, in fact, Sabathia pitched once every three days – unheard in today’s modern game.
During that period, he allowed two earned runs in 22 ⅔ innings and helped Milwaukee reach the postseason before losing to the Phillies in the National League Division Series.
If he had to do it all over again, Sabathia wouldn’t change a thing on how he was used during the final weeks of the season.
It was more about those guys and us being so close and special were the reasons I took the ball so many times,” Sabathia said. “I felt I left a big impression in Milwaukee, but they left a huge impression on me. Some of those guys are life-long friends. Me and Prince Fielder are friends for life. Me and Bill Hall are friends for life. The time I spent in Milwaukee was very special to me.”
Sabathia became a free agent after the season and signed with the Yankees and made an immediate impact, leading the American League in victories [19] and finishing second behind teammate Derek Jeter in Bwar [6.2]. Sabathia’s best moments, however, came in the postseason, winning three games with a 1.98 ERA in five starts and capturing the American League Championship Series MVP against the Angels.
During the last three years of his career, Sabathia was no longer the power pitcher that made him an ace. Instead, he relied heavily on the cutter. It took him a while to get used to the fact that he had to find another way to get hitters out.
“I had to think my way through lineups. I just couldn’t go out and bulldog my way through a lineup,” Sabathia said. “I have to go out and really be thoughtful about the way I’m going to pitch guys. It made me appreciate Jamie Moyer.
“Earlier in my career, I would watch Moyer pitch and say, ‘How is he doing this at 83 [miles per hour]? Balls wouldn’t leave the infield. As I got older, I go, ‘OK, that’s how he is doing it.’ I turned myself into my version of Jamie Moyer is what I felt like – backdoor sliders, changeups, cutters on your hands, two seamers off the plate. Just doing what I could to navigate a lineup, get outs with soft contact.”
Now, Sabathia is a Hall of Famer. He remembers the first time he went into the plaque room in Cooperstown a few years back.
“I almost cried. I had no idea. Current players should go to the Hall of Fame. … It’s so inspiring,” Sabathia said. “It gives you something to shoot for. I wish I would have taken Ichiro up on his offer and drove up there every offseason to be inspired. It’s something to see and play for.”
In a few weeks, former MLBBro pitcher CC Sabathia will be inducted into the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame.
A well deserved honor for the 44-year-old. Just a few days ago it was also announced that he is eligible for the 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame.
Sabathia had a very successful career and made an impact on each team he played for.
CC Sabathia Tied With Bob Gibson For Most Career Wins By Melanated Mound Marauder
He pitched in over 550 games during his career and finished with a record of 251-161. Sabathia also finished with a career ERA of 3.74 and had 3,093 strikeouts.
On the mound, Sabathia had a dominating presence, standing six-foot-six from the left side. He also had a plethora of pitches he could throw at any time to get hitters out.
Black Ace CC Sabathia
His 19 seasons in the league is a testament to his longevity and during that time he was a six-time All-Star, an AL Cy Young winner, a World Series champion, and a two-time MLB wins leader.
Sabathia spent most of his career playing with the Guardians and the New York Yankees. He also had a brief stint with the Milwaukee Brewers.
During his Cy Young Award winning season in 2007, he finished with a 19-7 record with a 3.21 ERA with 209 strikeouts and four complete games.
Two seasons later, he won his first and only World Series title with the Yankees. And he was also named the ALCS MVP as well as he pitched Game One and Game Four of that series, winning both games and allowing only one run.
His resume speaks for itself and Sabathia will go down as one of the best Black pitchers to play this game.
On August 3, Sabathia and his family will be in attendance at Progressive Field for a pregame Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Sabathia ranks seventh in strikeouts, 13th in wins, and 15th in innings pitched. He certainly created a legacy that will be remembered for years to come in Guardians history.
“We are so very excited to honor CC Sabathia as the newest member of the Guardians Hall of Fame,” said Guardians senior vice president of public affairs Bob DiBiasio in a statement. “Following his selection as our No. 1 Draft pick in the 1998 June Draft, CC burst onto the Cleveland baseball scene in grand fashion. His rookie season of 2001, at age 20, saw him win 17 games. A commanding presence on the mound, CC also had a commanding spirit for his teammates and those in need of a helping hand off the field. The PitCCh In Foundation, created by Sabathia and his wife, Amber, aims to enrich the lives of youth through educational and athletic activities and will be the lasting legacy of a big man with an even bigger heart.”
Sabathia will also have a strong chance to make the Hall of Fame next year in his first year of eligibility.
Many players play this game, and a select few get a chance to become Hall of Famers. Pretty soon, Sabathia will have that on his resume.
LOS ANGELES – Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. This group of New York Yankees MLBbros is getting remembered for heroics that have made them legends forever.
Dave Winfield was honored on April 24th in New York for his incredible accomplishments while wearing the pinstripes with a mural a few blocks away from Yankee Stadium.
The mural, titled “Exhibiting Possibilities: Legendary Yankees” was collaborated by The Bronx Children’s Museum, The Players Alliance, the Yankees and Bronx Terminal Market in order to feature historically great Yankee Black baseball players.
Congratulations to Dave Winfield, Aaron Judge, CC Sabathia, Willie Randolph, Reggie Jackson and Derek Jeter on their inclusion in the “Legendary Yankees” mural in the Bronx.
In a collaboration between the Players Alliance and the Bronx Children’s Museum, this vibrant mural by… pic.twitter.com/AzqnunBvgA
“It’s a special honor. I have a legacy, a history, a relationship with the Bronx, New York and baseball. When they told me that they wanted to do this exhibit and that I would be a part of it, it’s very special.” Winfield had to say.
The mural includes five other Yankee MLBbro legends throughout the team’s history, including Reggie Jackson, Willie Randolph C.C. Sabathia, Derek Jeter, and Aaron Judge.
“We hope that every boy or girl that sees these murals will have their own dreams of greatness on the field and, more importantly, in their communities. We will continue to support the storytelling of excellence surrounding the Black players in our game, and we look forward to continuing to honor our history, particularly our history of Black players,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said during the unveiling of the mural.
Winfield played for the Yankees from 1981-1990, where he was an All-Star for all but the last two seasons of his stint in the Bronx. He also won five Gold Gloves and five Silver Sluggers in that decade.
His first eight seasons of his career were spent in San Diego playing for the Padres, where he is also a member of the team’s Hall of Fame and has his No. 31 retired. He also played for the Angels, Blue Jays, Twins, and Indians, and was later inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001, his first year of eligibility. He was inducted as the first Padre player ever in Cooperstown.
Even with the unforgettable accomplishments he had in his first 18 seasons with the Padres and Yankees, Winfield didn’t win a World Series title until 1992, in his one year with Toronto, when he was 40.
During his one season there, he hit the game-winning two-run double in the 11th inning of Game 6 of the World Series that clinched the title, forever earning him the nickname “Mr. Jay.”
Over the course of his career, he batted .283, with 465 home runs, 1,833 RBI, a career on-base percentage of .353, and a slugging percentage of .475. He also has 3,110 career hits, which is 23rd all time. He was a 12-time All-Star, seven-time Gold Glove winner, and a six-time Silver Slugger award winner throughout the entirety of his playing career.
One of three athletes ever to be drafted in four different leagues, there was truly no one like The Wave. His consistent productivity throughout each stage of his career, plus everything he’s done post-retirement for his community and the game of baseball, truly makes him one of one.
(COOPERSTOWN, NY) – The greatest legends of Black baseball demonstrated their talents and desire for four decades at the annual Negro Leagues East-West All-Star Game. From Satchel Paige to Cool Papa Bell, these gifted Black Knights took center stage.
What Is The Hall of Fame East-West Classic?
The Negro Leagues East-West All-Star Game debuted in 1933 at Chicago’s Comiskey Park and was played annually through 1962, including several years that featured multiple games. Hall of Famer Bill Foster was the winning pitcher in the inaugural East-West All-Star Game and several future Hall of Famers starred in the game throughout the years, including Ray Brown, Andy Cooper, Leon Day, Josh Gibson, Buck Leonard, Jackie Robinson and Willie Wells.
In 2024, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will honor that legacy by hosting the Hall of Fame East-West Classic: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues All-Star Game,presented by Boeing, during Memorial Day Weekend at Cooperstown’s historic Doubleday Field.
Scheduled for Saturday, May 25, the Hall of Fame East-West Classic will feature more than two dozen former big leaguers, with Ken Griffey Jr. and Ozzie Smith among the Hall of Famers who will serve as the East and West teams’ managers and coaches.
The game, which will take the place of the Hall of Fame Classic in 2024, will be part of a weekend celebration as the Museum opens its new exhibit The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball.
“Memorial Day Weekend will serve as a landmark event within a years-long initiative among the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and our partners to rethink how the stories of Black baseball are told in Cooperstown,” said Josh Rawitch, President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. “The Souls of the Game exhibit will tell the story of Black baseball through the voices of the men and women who broke barriers and made history on and off the field.”
The Negro Leagues East-West All-Star Game debuted in 1933 at Chicago’s Comiskey Park and was played annually through 1962.
MLBbro.com is naturally elated and fully supportive of this turn of events, as our entire platform is dedicated to preserving, highlighting and reporting the history and current triumphs of African-American baseball players.
“We are thrilled to host many of the game’s biggest stars of the last two decades for the Hall of Fame East-West Classic, a tribute to the heroes of Black baseball who showcased their talents for years in the annual Negro Leagues All-Star Game,” continued Rawitch. “The incredible enthusiasm from players participating in this legends game faced their own challenges while helping to build on the diversity that has flowed through our National Pastime for more than a century.”
Who Will Be Playing?
Players committed to participate in the May 25 Hall of Fame East-West Classic include team captains CC Sabathia and Chris Young; Josh Barfield, Tim Beckham, Ian Desmond, Prince Fielder, Curtis Granderson, Tony Gwynn Jr., Jerry Hairston, Scott Hairston, LaTroy Hawkins, Ryan Howard, Edwin Jackson, Jeremy Jeffress, Adam Jones, Russell Martin, Tony Sipp, Justin Upton and Dontrelle Willis.
CC Sabathia pitched 19 seasons for the NY Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers. His 251 career wins is tied with “Bullet” Bob Gibson for No. 1 all-time among MLBbro pitchers. With just 161 career losses, CC flosses an ERA of 3.74 with 3,093 strikeouts. The Black Ace won 1 Cy Young award, 1 League Championship MVP award and 1 World Series.
“The East-West All-Star Game was the annual showcase for the Negro Leagues, and we are privileged to be able to honor the legacy of those stars over Memorial Day Weekend in Cooperstown as part of the Hall of Fame’s celebration of Black baseball,” Sabathia tells MLBbro.com.
“As players, we are indebted to the pioneers who came before us, and recognizing the All-Stars of the Negro Leagues pays tribute not only to their playing ability but also to their courage and devotion to the game.”
The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball Exhibit
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has teamed up with Sports Travel and Tours to offer baseball fans a one-stop opportunity to purchase Classic Weekend travel packages. For more information or to plan a trip to Cooperstown, please call 1-888-310-HALL (4255). Membership participants receive a 5% discount on all their baseball travel packages.
Located on the Museum’s second floor in the Yawkey Gallery, The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball will cover stories of early Black baseball, the Negro Leagues era, the complexities of reintegration, Jackie Robinson, post-reintegration progress and retrogress, and calls for change in today’s game while celebrating the newest superstars of the era. Meaningful stories from Black baseball are also being added to other exhibits throughout the Museum.
The exhibit is part of the Hall of Fame’s Black Baseball Initiative that includes additional outreach programs, educational materials and virtual programming.
The Souls of the Game, a title that pays tribute to W.E.B. Du Bois’s seminal 1903 book “The Souls of Black Folk”, will explore the Black baseball experience of those men, women and children who were and are an integral part of our National Pastime.
Subtitled “Voices of Black Baseball”, the exhibit will highlight first-person accounts by the many individuals whose experiences shaped them, their community, baseball and America at large. Featuring historically significant artifacts, documents and photographs, and utilizing audio, video, and interactive elements, the exhibit will tell a more inclusive story of baseball, shine a light on and correct misconceptions about Black baseball.
For more information about the Museum’s Black Baseball Initiative, click here.
The PitCCh In Foundation was established in 2008. The first event was in 2010 in Cleveland and incorporated that same year by New York Yankees ace CC Sabathia and his wife Amber to give back to the communities that gave them so much. CC’s Mom, Margie Sabathia-Lanier, has also been instrumental in launching the foundation.
CC and Amber were motivated by the idea of developing a long-term platform with the foundation to provide the next generations of kids with a belief in their abilities and dreams on and off the field. The Foundation showcases three signature programs that provide youth with the tools to excel in academic and athletic environments.
1. THE ALL-STAR BASEBALL CLINIC 2. YOUTH BACKPACK PROGRAM 3. FIELD RENOVATIONS
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