CC Sabathia officially became the latest longtime Yankee to reach the Baseball Hall of Fame when the voting by the Baseball Writers Association of America was announced Tuesday night, sending Sabathia to Cooperstown along with Ichiro Suzuki and former Mets reliever Billy Wagner.
CC Sabathia has made it clear he wants to go into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a New York Yankee, calling the organization his home. He was welcomed to baseball’s most prestigious club by his former teammate Derek Jeter and joins another in Mariano Rivera. There is no shortage of Yankees in Cooperstown.
CC Sabathia was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame with 86.8% of votes, marking his significant career with 251 wins, a 3.74 ERA, and 3,093 strikeouts. He'll enter the Hall with a Yankees cap.
Suzuki came in first in terms of voting with 393, making history as the first Japanese-born player elected to the Hall of Fame. He was close to making history again as he was nearly unanimous– and he would have been in some pretty weighty company to share with Yankee legends Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter.
CC Sabathia’s anticipated election to the Baseball Hall of Fame will hopefully encourage people to think differently regarding the achievements of starting pitchers.
The New York Yankees are the winningest team in Major League Baseball history, and they have had countless household names play for them over the years. From Hall of Famers to current superstars, the Yankees have it all when it comes to talented players over the years.
Other bits of intrigue ahead of Tuesday's 6 p.m. announcement: Will CC Sabathia be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and is this the year Billy Wagner gets in?
Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner have been elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, as announced by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) on Tuesday. To be inducted,
After his election into the baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, CC Sabathia said he wants a Yankees logo on the cap on his plaque in Cooperstown. “I love the other organizations,” Sabathia said. “But this is home. I found a home in the Bronx and I don't think I'll ever leave this city, so I think it’s only fitting.”
CC Sabathia’s career ended abruptly. Yes, the longtime Yankees left-hander had announced months earlier his plans to retire after the 2019 season, but his final appearance did not go as ceremoniously as Derek Jeter’s or Mariano Rivera’s.
Suzuki received 393 of 394 votes from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Sabathia was on 342 ballots and Wagner on 325, which was 29 more than the 296 needed for the required 75%.