CC Sabathia was an impressive presence on the mound throughout his 19-year Major League career. Not just because of his size, but also because of the way he takes over games.
Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. was a workhorse in every sense of the word. With a record of 6 wins and 6 losses, the left-handed pitcher rarely missed the starting lineup and often pitched late in the innings, but that quality soon became scarce.
Sabathia, the 2001 American League Rookie of the Year runner-up, spent his first eight seasons in the majors in Cleveland, where he earned a reputation for consistency and durability.
In 2007, he led the league in 241 innings pitched with 19 wins and an ERA of 3.21, winning the AL Cy Young Award. Just before the All-Star break the following season, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers. It was a move that almost single-handedly led the Brewers into the playoffs and unleashed the most dominant period of his career.
In just 17 starts with Milwaukee, Sabathia went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and led the entire National League with seven complete games and three shutouts. He played such an important role in the Brewers’ run to the playoffs that he finished 6th in National League MVP voting even though he was with the team for less than half the season. .
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That winter, Sabathia signed a seven-year, $161 million free agent contract with the New York Yankees. This was the largest contract for a pitcher in baseball history at the time.
The money was well spent in 2009, as Sabathia led the majors with 19 wins and led the Yankees to a World Series victory. He pitched 10 more seasons in New York, winning 134 of his 251 games in Yankees pinstripes and becoming the 17th pitcher in baseball history to surpass 3,000 strikeouts.
Why Sabathia belongs in the Hall
A six-time All-Star, Sabathia achieved both high peaks (particularly in the seven-year span from 2006 to 2012 with a 122-57 record and a 3.14 ERA) and exceptional longevity (251 wins, 3,093 strikeouts, No. 3 in the world). ) had both. (Most among left-handed pitchers in history).
He led the team to 11 playoff appearances during his 19-year career. In the 2009 American League Championship Series, he won two games against the Los Angeles Angels, allowing only two earned runs (1.13 ERA) in 16 innings, leading the Yankees to the World Series, and was also named MVP. .
According to Baseball-Reference.com, Sabathia finished his career with 62.3 wins, more than his successor. This puts him just behind Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Juan Marichal, and ahead of Early Wynn and Jim Bunning.
Lawsuit against Sabathia
Sabathia’s longevity makes his career record impressive, but his 3.74 ERA is one of the best ever by a Cooperstown pitcher, trailing only Jack Morris (3.90) among 66 non-Negro League starting pitchers.・It exceeds only Ruffing (3.80). . However, because he played during a time of improved offensive power, his ERA of 116+ would rank higher than Cooperstown’s other 20 players.
Sabathia won a World Series ring and started 23 games in the postseason, but didn’t have many memorable moments in October. His overall playoff record was just 10-7 with a 4.28 ERA.
X factor
In addition to being one of the most visible and outspoken Black players in the game, Sabathia was a beloved teammate throughout his career, often prioritizing team goals over personal goals.
Perhaps the most frequently cited example was in 2018, near the end of his career, when he was ejected from his last start for hitting an opposing batter. He did this in retaliation for an opposing pitcher throwing a ball into the back of a Yankees player’s head, even though he was two innings short of his contracted $500,000 bonus. (The Yankees paid him a bonus anyway.)
Sabathia has also been open about his struggle with alcohol, and his battle with addiction has made him a compelling figure in recovery.
voting trends
Sabathia appears very likely to be elected on the BBWAA ballot in his first year.
According to Ryan Thibodeau’s Hall of Fame Tracker, he has received 93.1% of the public votes as of January 19th.
realistic outlook
Perhaps part of the last generation of primary starting pitchers, Sabathia’s 3,577 1/3 total innings pitched are the most of any player born after 1966, even though he wasn’t born until 1980.
The BBWAA hasn’t elected a pitcher to the Hall since the trio of Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay and Mike Mussina in 2019. This year should be a welcome reset for Sabathia (and Billy Wagner).
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