New York Yankees: CC Sabathia to the Hall, is 3000 K's enough?

New York Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabatia is only six strikeouts away from 3000 and baseball immortality. James Kattato makes the case for Sabathia’s election to the Hall of Fame.

Over the course of his illustrious career, New York Yankees hurler CC Sabathia has battled through multiple setbacks on his road 3000 strikeouts. With only six strikeouts standing between him and an upper echelon of elite pitching, his Hall of Fame case is the strongest it’ll ever be. Some debate the topic, but here’s why Sabathia should make it into Cooperstown.

Cy Young CC

This is the biggest feather in Sabathia’s cap and rightfully so. If at any point in a pitchers career he gets honored as the best in the league, it can always improve their chances to make the Hall. For CC, he was dominant all of 2007 posting an EEA of 3.21 with 209 Strikeouts while only allowing 37 walks.

He placed 14th in the American League MVP race and established himself as an ace in any rotation. It can be argued that Sabathia deserved another Cy Young in 2008 during the 17 masterful starts he pieced together with the Milwaukee Brewers but regardless, one award is definitely better than none.

Six-time All-Star

Minus the Milwaukee stint, Sabathia was able to represent the other two teams he pitched for at the All-Star game for a total of six appearances. Three times with the Cleveland Indians and three more times with the New York Yankees. What was even more impressive was the fact that he was able to sustain an All-Star caliber of pitching throughout his early 30’s. When he became a Bronx star, he was able to amass 74 wins in his first four seasons wearing Pinstripes. Sabathia and the Yankees seemed to be a perfect match… But with some great highs, there were definitely some very low-lows.

Overcoming Adversity

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Over two seasons (2014 AND 2015), he would only hit the bump a total of 37 times. In 2014, fluid in the right knee would be the thing that would see him on the 60-day injury list and keep him from pitching. In 2015, he would have his toughest battle. It wouldn’t be a knee injury this time that kept Sabathia off the field, but a struggle with alcoholism.

In what he calls ‘my toughest out’, CC took time away from the Yankees to focus on getting the help that he needed in order to get back on the field better than ever. After returning in 2016, he looked like a solid re-addition to the New York Yankees staff and was back on the right path. In 2018 however, that would all change again when he needed an emergency procedure to fix a life-threatening artery blockage in his heart. It’s incredible that after all of this, he’s still able to go out and compete in 2019 at 38-years-old.

Final Verdict

CC has been able to regain some sort of pitching form into his late 30’s and can give the Yankees five-plus solid innings on a regular basis. He’s had four good starts this year and has shown that if healthy, he can be a viable asset to the Bomber’s starting rotation come October. Another All-Star appearance, double-digit win season, or World Series would surely secure his spot in the Hall but that could be a bit far fetched.

He will surely reach 3000 strikeouts and will finish his storied career with 3500+ innings and over 250 wins under his belt. I think that CC will make the Hall of Fame and in doing so, show the perseverance it took from him to make it back from adversity to success.

Next. Yankees rise on Easter Sunday. dark

Even with all the setbacks, a second World Series ring for the southpaw would solidify a great comeback and show aspiring ball players around the world that anything is possible.

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New York Yankees: CC Sabathia to the Hall, is 3000 K’s enough?

By James Kattato | Apr 23, 2019