Yankees Great CC Sabathia Reacts Emotionally to Hall Call

On the MLB Network broadcast, Sabathia expanded on that.

“It means everything to me. I mean even just going Hall of Fame in general, is a a big honor,” Sabathia said, “but to go in first ballot, I know what that means as a baseball player, and it's super exciting.”

Sabathia also congratulated the two men joining him in the Class of 2025; Ichiro Suzuki and Billy Wagner. They will be inducted in Cooperstown July 28.

“Congrats to Ichiro and Billy!! So well deserved and honored to enter this @baseballhall fraternity with you. Legends of the game immortalized. HOF,” he posted.

Sabathia pitched 19 seasons in the big leagues, amassing 251 wins and 3,093 strikeouts. He threw a total of 3,577 1.3 innings in 561 Major League games. He is one of just 15 major league pitchers to pass the 250-win and 3,000-strikeout marks in baseball history. He is just the third left-handed pitcher to reach those milestones, joining Hall of Famers Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson.

He is also a member of the Black Aces, a group of Black pitchers who won at least 20 games in an MLB season. A six-time All-Star, Sabathia was drafted by the then-Cleveland Indians, where he would go on to win his Cy Young. After a brief but memorable stop in Milwaukee, Sabathia became a Yankee on a then-record $161 million deal.

He got the Yankees to the World Series in 2009, winning the MVP of the American League Championship Series after throwing a complete game to clinch the series. That year would be the only World Series he would win in New York, be he became a beloved Yankee for his fierce competitiveness and willingness to take the ball whenever asked. 

And he caps that career with a special moment. 

"From now on it’s Hall of Famer Carsten Charles Sabathia. Dream come true!!! Feeling so blessed," Sabathia tweeted about the night.