Yankees: Inside the Numbers, the Hall of Fame case for CC Sabathia

Yankees starter CC Sabathia collected his 3,000th career strikeout in a 3-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks last Tuesday. With his family in attendance, it was a bittersweet moment for the Sabathia family and the Yankees organization. However, does this accolade solidify Sabathia into Cooperstown?

When Sabathia struck out former Yankees’ catcher John Ryan Murphy for his 3,000th strikeout, the lefty became only the 17th Major League pitcher to ever accomplish this feat. Additionally, Sabathia is now only one of three left-handers to reach this milestone (Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson).

If you had asked me before writing this piece if Sabathia was a Hall of Famer, I would have said no-doubt. I wouldn’t have even hesitated. He has excellent overall numbers and many personal achievements with the Indians, Brewers, and Yankees. Heck, I even thought he was a first-ballot caliber player.

Some of the Vallejo, CA native’s personal achievements and hardware include:

• 248-154 (.616 %) , 542 G (all starts), 3,490.1 IP, 3,002 K, 3.69 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 117 ERA+
• 62.7 career pitching WAR
• 6x All-Star (’03-’04, ’07, ’10-’12)
• 2007 American League Cy Young Award winner (four other years in the Top 5)
• 2009 ALCS MVP
• 2009 World Series Champion

The numbers alone radiate “future Hall of Famer.” Since this will be his last year in the Majors, the 38-year old Sabathia will be first eligible for Cooperstown in 2025. But after doing some research, I was astonished to discover that although Sabathia has had a phenomenal 19-year career — especially during his peak years from 2006-2012– his overall numbers don’t compare quite as well to pitchers already in the Hall of Fame as you may think.

Before we continue, I want to make sure my point is getting across: I think Sabathia is a Hall of Famer. My argument, however, is that it won’t be as easy to get inducted as expected.