CC Sabathia's career has been calling out for redemptive glory since the moment it ended, five and a half years ago on a cold October night. The Yankees were in the midst of Game 4 of what would turn out to be another gutting, six-game ALCS loss to the Houston Astros. Fittingly, Sabathia -- known for giving his all until he could give no more -- hurled one last pitch in a game that was spiraling out of control, then immediately called for the trainer; his shoulder had given out.
Nobody ever questioned Sabathia's toughness, and draining every ounce of his ability seemed like an apropos way to draw the curtain on his 19-year tenure. Still, it seemed especially cruel that he could not end his career on his terms, after all the blood, sweat and tears he'd poured into dragging his teams across the finish line, time and again.
Yankee fans, at that moment in time, believed that the burly left-hander's Cooperstown credentials were undeniable; 3,000 strikeouts, 250 wins, and enough controlling of the narrative to ensure the history of baseball could not be told without him.
Wet blankets, unfortunately, conspired to tell a different story. Sabathia was great, sure, but not first ballot great; the game's stewards seemed likely to insidiously delay his election for no other reason than to prove their ideological superiority. For the same reason Derek Jeter was denied unanimous induction, Sabathia would be forced to wait, in order for MLB scribes from the midwest to make some sort of argument about upper-echelon dominance in an echo chamber.
Only ... it didn't quite work out that way after all. In his first year on the ballot, Sabathia sailed into Cooperstown.
CC Sabathia gave it his all 🥹
— MLB (@MLB) January 20, 2025
Does he become a Hall of Famer tomorrow? pic.twitter.com/QTeLGUcdZt
2025 Baseball Hall of Fame Voting Results: Yankees ace CC Sabathia, the last of his kind, enters Cooperstown
Sabathia earned 86.8% of the vote, gaining election in a three-man class featuring Ichiro Suzuki (not unanimous, missing by one) and closer Billy Wagner, forced to bide his time in the same way some thought the Yankees' ace might have to.
It turns out that more than we ever expected managed to change in just five years. Sabathia earned status as a lion who roared loudest when his team needed an extra boost; that type of starting pitcher barely exists anymore. Sabathia was viewed as a "compiler," and his 251 wins didn't seem impressive enough for number-crunchers; now, that sounds like an outrageously high total, as most future electees will struggle to scratch 200.
Sabathia's 3.74 ERA was higher than most Hall of Fame aces, weighed down by three well-below average years in a row from 2013-2015; now, we appreciate context, whereas the reason for the downturn may have been ignored in previous voting eras. Sabathia entered rehab at the tail end of the 2015 season; he'd been battling persistent knee pain as well. This may have been a demerit back in the day. Now, it's a jumping off point for a far more interesting redemption narrative; Sabathia's ERA+ marks of 110, 122, and 115 from 2016-2018 notched him three above-average seasons that bolstered his case significantly.
Even detractors would've admitted all along that, whether they wanted to see him enter the Hall expeditiously or wait his turn, Sabathia was a Cooperstown-bound pitcher at his core. Thankfully, that's the only thing that seems to matter nowadays.
Next stop? Seeing if Sabathia's similarity to Andy Pettitte bolsters the latter's case to get across the finish line in his remaining three years of eligibility, too. Neither pitcher's final numbers are likely to be equaled by the ensuing generation. Pettitte's October glory could be the difference-maker, in much the same way Sabathia's 2008 takeover or '09 World Series were.