Baseball Hall of Fame welcomes Cleveland Indians’ star CC Sabathia

There are 84 pitchers in the Baseball Hall of Fame, and 10 of them played a significant part of their careers in Cleveland, whether for the Spiders, Naps, or Indians.

On Tuesday, CC Sabathia learned he will become No. 11, receiving the call that he will be inducted into Cooperstown this July.

Sabathia was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in his first year of eligibility. He received votes on 86.8% of the 394 ballots cast (75% is required for selection). In 2025, he will be inducted alongside outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, closer Billy Wagner, and Classic Baseball Era Committee selections Dick Allen and Dave Parker.

CASE FOR COOPERSTOWN: Tyler Carey explains why Cleveland Indians legend CC Sabathia belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame

Even though Sabathia spent most of his 19 seasons with the New York Yankees, he always considers Cleveland his hometown. He was drafted by the Indians in the first round in 1998 and made his debut in the MLB at the young age of 20. After winning 17 games in his rookie year, he continued to find success in his career.

In 7 1/2 seasons from 2001-08, Sabathia won 106 games from the Tribe, trailing only Sam McDowell for the most among lefties in franchise history. His 1,265 strikeouts also rank seventh among all Cleveland pitchers, and during his tenure he also made three American League All-Star teams and helped the Indians to two division titles while also topping the AL in shutouts twice.

In 2007, CC became just the second Cleveland pitcher (after fellow Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry) to win the American League Cy Young Award, earning 19 out of a possible 28 first-place votes. He went 19-7 that year with a 3.21 ERA and 209 strikeouts, all while leading the majors with 241 innings pitched.

With free agency looming and the club slipping into mediocrity, the Indians made the difficult decision to trade Sabathia to Milwaukee midway through the 2008 season, a deal that netted them future All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley but also helped create a tense rift with the fan base. CC would dominate his three months with the Brewers (11-2, 1.65 ERA, seven complete games) before signing a lucrative contract with the Yankees that winter.

Sabathia would spend his final 11 seasons in the Bronx, leading MLB in wins twice (including a career-high 21 in 2010), making three more All-Star appearances, and helping the Yanks to a World Series championship in 2009. He retired with 251 career victories, 62.3 wins above replacement (per Baseball Reference), and 3,093 strikeouts, the latter placing him third all-time among lefties behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton.