CC Sabathia loomed as an imposing figure on the mound throughout his 19-year career in the major leagues. Not just because of his physical size, but because of the way he could take over a game.
Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. was a workhorse in every sense of the word. The 6-6 left-hander rarely missed a start and often pitched deep into the late innings, qualities that soon became in short supply.
The 2001 AL Rookie of the Year runner-up, Sabathia spent his first eight seasons in the majors with Cleveland, earning a reputation for consistency and durability.
He took home the AL Cy Young award in 2007, with 19 wins and a 3.21 ERA in a league-leading 241 innings. Just before the All-Star break the following season, he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers – a move that unleashed the most dominant stretch of his career as he almost singlehandedly carried the Brewers to a playoff berth.
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 was so critical to the Brewers making the playoffs that he finished sixth in the NL MVP balloting, despite being with the team for less than half the season.
Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.
That winter, Sabathia signed a seven-year, $161 million free agent contract with the New York Yankees – the largest contract for a pitcher in baseball history at that time.
It was money well-spent as Sabathia topped the majors with 19 wins in 2009 in leading the Yankees to a World Series title. He pitched 10 more seasons in New York, earning 134 of his 251 career wins while wearing Yankee 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 had both a high peak (especially the seven-year stretch between 2006 and 2012 when he went 122-57 with a 3.14 ERA) and exceptional longevity (251 career wins and 3,093 strikeouts, third-most in history among left-handed pitchers).
He helped lead his teams to 11 playoff appearances over his 19-year career. And he was the MVP of the 2009 American League championship series, allowing just two earned runs over 16 innings (1.13 ERA) in two wins over the Los Angeles Angels and propelling the Yankees to the World Series.
Sabathia finished his career with 62.3 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball-Reference.com. That puts him right behind Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Juan Marichal and ahead of Early Wynn and Jim Bunning.
The case against Sabathia
While Sabathia’s longevity helped him rack up impressive career totals, his 3.74 ERA would be one of the highest for any pitcher in Cooperstown – ahead of only Jack Morris (3.90) and Red Ruffing (3.80) among the 66 enshrined non-Negro League starting pitchers. However, he did play during a time of elevated offensive numbers, so his 116 ERA+ would rank him ahead of 20 others in Cooperstown.
Though he did win a World Series ring and made 23 postseason starts, Sabathia didn’t have many memorable October moments. His career playoff record was just 10-7 with a 4.28 ERA.
X factors
In addition to being one of the most visible and outspoken Black players in the game, Sabathia was a beloved teammate throughout his career, frequently putting team goals ahead of individual ones.
Perhaps the most frequently cited example came as his career was winding down in 2018, when he was ejected from his final start for hitting an opposing batter. He did that in retaliation for the other team’s pitcher throwing a pitch behind the head of a Yankees player, despite it causing him to fall two innings short of a $500,000 bonus in his contract. (The Yankees paid him the bonus anyway.)
Sabathia also had a very public battle with alcohol, and his fight against addiction made him a compelling figure in his recovery.
Voting trends
Sabathia appears to have a very good chance for election in his first year on the BBWAA ballot.
According to Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame Tracker, he has been listed on 93.1% of public votes collected as of Jan. 19.
Realistic outlook
Part of perhaps the last generation of workhorse starters, Sabathia’s career total of 3,577⅓ innings pitched is the most of anyone born after 1966, despite the fact that he wasn’t born until 1980.
The BBWAA has not elected a pitcher to the Hall since the trio of Mariano Rivera, Roy Halladay and Mike Mussina in 2019. Sabathia (and Billy Wagner) should provide a welcome reset this year.
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.