Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
BRONX, NY — CC Sabathia had watched several former teammates receive their eternal place in Yankees history. This time, with his family beside him, it was finally his turn for his No. 52 to take its place in Monument Park alongside baseball immortality.
“It was incredible, surreal,” Sabathia said after the ceremony, which was held ahead of the first game of a doubleheader between the Orioles and Yankees Friday at Yankee Stadium.
He had attended the same number retirement ceremonies and Monument Park inductions for Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte.
Chris Young, Dellin Betances, Andy Pettitte, Derek Jeter, CC Sabathia, and Sabathia’s family and loved ones during Sabathia’s number retirement ceremony and Monument Park induction Friday afternoon at Yankee Stadium – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Seeing his own number there was harder for the 46-year-old to imagine, even after 11 seasons in pinstripes.
Sabathia said the moment felt bigger to him than his 2025 induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum up in Cooperstown, New York. When he signed with the Yankees in December of 2018, he wondered to himself whether he could ever win over New York.
“I never envisioned myself going into Monument Park and I think that was the reason why I was so scared to come here is because you don’t ever think you’re going to win the Yankee fans over or the city over,” he said. “So to be able to be sitting here now, playing here 11 years, is an incredible feeling and that’s why I’ve said the last couple of weeks this feels bigger to me than the Hall of Fame because I know what was at stake when I came here.”
CC Sabathia became the 24th Yankee all-time to have their number retired by the franchise, the most winningest organization in all of professional sports with 27 World Series championships – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
The schedule change caused by incoming weather with a Nor’easter in the forecast kept some fans from attending the pregame festivities.
Sabathia thanked them for their support through his years in the Bronx and afterward. Former teammates joined him for the occasion, and Jorge Posada sent a congratulatory message.
The Road to New York
Sabathia’s path began in Vallejo, California as Cleveland selected him out of high school with the 20th overall pick in the 1998 MLB Draft. He reached the majors in 2001, winning the American League Cy Young Award in 2007 and helping Milwaukee return to the postseason after a midseason trade in 2008.
The Yankees offered him a seven-year, $161 million contract that offseason, but Sabathia was hesitant. He had seen talented players struggle under New York’s expectations. His late father had long predicted he would pitch for the Yankees and win a championship, which made the decision feel more personal.
After an initial meeting at MLB’s Winter Meetings, general manager Brian Cashman visited Sabathia and his wife, Amber, at their home. Sabathia recalled Cashman telling him he had targeted the southpaw for years and believed he could change the Yankee clubhouse. Amber urged him to recognize how much the Yankees wanted him.
“That conversation was the reason why I ended up signing,” he said.
From Ace to Clubhouse Leader
Sabathia opened the new Yankee Stadium in 2009 and became the ace of a championship staff, going 19-8 that regular season and earning American League Championship Series MVP honors.
In his 11 seasons in pinstripes (2009-19), CC Sabathia posted a 134-88 (.604) record with a 3.81 ERA (1,918.0IP, 811ER) and 1,700K in 307 games (306 starts)—fourth in franchise history in strikeouts, seventh in starts, 10th in wins and 11th in innings pitched – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
He recalled a strong August start against Boston as the point when he finally felt comfortable pitching in New York.
His responsibilities changed as Jeter, Rivera and Pettitte retired.
Sabathia said he tried to know teammates beyond just baseball so he could speak honestly with them whenever difficult moments arose.
CC Sabathia saw all the superstar capabilities early on in Aaron Judge’s career, a time way before he become the Aaron Judge the baseball world knows of today – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
He saw another leader emerge in Aaron Judge, stating he and Brett Gardner recognized Judge’s leadership and clubhouse influence in 2017 and gave him room to be himself.
“He’s the guy,” Sabathia recalled thinking. “I think we saw right away the special talent that he was and his impact on the clubhouse and whether it was Greg Bird or Aaron Hicks or whoever else, they were following him. So, yeah, we just kind of let him go.”
A Black Ace’s Place in History
Sabathia’s 21-win season in 2010 made him a Black Ace, part of the group of African-American pitchers who have won at least 20 games in a major league season. He is one of three Black Aces inducted into the Hall of Fame as players, joining Bob Gibson and Ferguson Jenkins.
CC Sabathia is is one of only four left-handed pitchers in Major League history to reach the 3,000K plateau, along with Randy Johnson (4,875), Steve Carlton (4,136) and Clayton Kershaw (3,052) – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
He finished his career in pinstripes with 134 wins and 1,700 strikeouts, 10th and fourth in franchise history, respectively.
Now the number he first found in a Cleveland spring training locker belongs permanently to the franchise whose challenge once frightened him.
“I felt like I could make it my own,” Sabathia said of No. 52. “And now it is mine.”
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