After 11 seasons in New York, 7.5 in Cleveland and half a campaign in Milwaukee, CC Sabathia didn’t need much time to think about what cap his Hall of Fame plaque will feature should he be enshrined in Cooperstown.
“Absolutely,” the 44-year-old quickly said when asked if he’ll enter the Hall of Fame as a Yankee.
Sabathia, speaking at East Rutherford’s American Dream Mall during a charity event for his PitCCh In Foundation earlier this month, is a first-time candidate on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s 2025 Hall of Fame ballot. While it remains to be seen if he’ll get in on his first try — former teammate and fellow first-timer Ichiro Suzuki is a lock — Sabathia certainly has a case for induction.
“I’m excited,” Sabathia said. “That’s something that I never thought about when I was playing or dreamt about, but to have people consider me to be a Hall of Famer is exciting. We’ll see what happens.
“I mean, I played. I did my thing. Now it’s just up to the writers to do the voting.”
Sabathia ended his career with six All-Star selections, 251 wins, a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts over 3,577.1 innings. He is one of 19 pitchers in the 3,000-strikeout club. The only non-active members of that group not in the Hall of Fame are Roger Clemens, who has ties to the Steroid Era, and Curt Schilling, whose long history of bigoted and inflammatory remarks didn’t do him any favors with voters.
Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer are also in the club but remain active.
While Sabathia won a Cy Young in Cleveland in 2007 and is in the franchise’s own Hall of Fame, he boosted his résumé with the Yankees, winning ALCS MVP in 2009 before securing the only World Series title of his career in his first season with the team.
Sabathia had a 1.98 ERA over five starts during the Yankees’ playoff run that year — they haven’t won a title since — and he finished his career with a 3.42 ERA over 105.1 total postseason innings for the Bombers.
While Sabathia didn’t say he’s sure he’ll make the Hall of Fame — in 2025 or down the road — he does like his chances.
“I feel pretty good having 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts,” he said. “That’s a huge accomplishment for me. It was always just about surviving. I really started playing just to help me and my mom out, so I never thought I would end up in Cooperstown. To have people consider my career that way, it’s just a blessing in itself.”
Sabathia and Suzuki are not the only ex-Yankees on the 2025 BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot. Others include Bobby Abreu, Carlos Beltrán, Curtis Granderson, Andruw Jones, Russell Martin, Brian McCann, Andy Pettitte, Álex Rodríguez and Troy Tulowitzki.
Those candidates will have a tougher time getting 75% of the vote, the minimum required for induction.
The results of the 2025 ballot will be announced on Jan. 21. Induction Weekend for this incoming class will take place from July 25-28 in Cooperstown.
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