New York Yankees: Will CC Sabathia be a first ballot Hall of Famer?
By Kyle Cardoza
The New York Years
The Yankees are notorious for being big money spenders during the offseason. And their front office pieced together one of the best offseason additions in 2009, at least since the turn of the century.
Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett joined Sabathia in the Bronx to attempt to bring home the organization’s first title since 2000.
Of course, Sabathia was the premiere signing, coming off his short, but impressive, stint in Milwaukee. His contract was worth $161 million, the largest for any pitcher at the time.
And for his first four seasons in New York, Sabathia’s $23 million a year seemed reasonable, considering he had three All-Star appearances and three top-five finishes in the Cy Young race.
Sabathia tossed more than 900 innings across those four years. With the Yankees’ powerful offense, it’s not a surprise he accumulated 74 wins in that span as well.
New York had their ace. But unfortunately, Sabathia’s massive workload caught up to his body starting in 2014. He was diagnosed with degenerative findings in his right knee, something that continues to hamper his ability on the bump.
It seemed unlike Sabathia to throw just 46 innings in 2014, but alas, that is all he knee allowed at the time. Then, the veteran ace faced off-the-field issues as well the following year, announcing he attended rehab for a drinking problem.
Some fans figured that might be the end of Sabathia’s career, but the starter persevered and returned to the mound in 2015. Granted, he endured one of his worst seasons that year, compiling a 4.73 ERA and his highest WHIP across a full season at 1.42.
Still, former manager Joe Girardi left the veteran in the rotation. When current manager Aaron Boone took over, he did the same. And even when his massive contract ended, the Yankees continuously signed Sabathia despite knowing he is a shell of his former self.
Compared to other back-end options across the league, Sabathia has been consistent since 2016. He’s tossed more than 145 innings in each of those seasons, owning a sub-4.00 ERA as well. His walk ratio was a bit higher than usual in that span, but opponents didn’t accrue a significant amount of hits against him.
Sabathia figures to be in the same role once again in the upcoming season. Whether he will remain in the rotation will be decided later, but for now, the southpaw has a chance to continue his legacy.
The question remains whether that legacy will result in a Hall of Fame berth.