Sabathia retired after the 2019 season, ending a career that featured a Cy Young Award in 2007 and a World Series title with the Yankees in 2009. The lefty eventually registered 251 wins and 3,093

CC Sabathia remembers being awed by his first visit to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y., saying he still gets goosebumps when he thinks about those hours wandering through the plaque gallery several years ago.

CC Sabathia loomed as an imposing figure on ... in two wins over the Los Angeles Angels and propelling the Yankees to the World Series. Sabathia finished his career with 62.3 Wins Above ...

When it’s all said and done, many of us hope that our lives will not be defined by only a title or achievement. Legacies are crafted by countless moments, including the small ones witnessed by a handful of people.

Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese player chosen for baseball’s Hall of Fame, falling one vote shy of unanimous when he was elected along with CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner.

Sabathia went into his free agency thinking he would come out an Angel. Instead, he was blown away by the Yankees’ seven-year, $161 million offer and ended up eliminating the Angels in the Championship Series. He allowed just two runs in two starts, striking out 12 over 16 innings as he was named the ALCS MVP.

CC Sabathia adds another C to his name now, for Cooperstown, now that he becomes the latest great Yankee to become a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Newly-elected Baseball Hall of Fame members, from left, Ichiro Suzuki, left, Billy Wagner and CC Sabathia pose for photo during a news conference, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Cooperstown, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink) Newly-elected Baseball Hall of Fame members,

Cooperstown is calling the 6-time All-Star and 2007 Cy Young award winner, whose 3.093 strikeouts are third-most in history by a left-handed pitcher.

With the Yankees, CC Sabathia gained immortality. The big lefty, who rose to the moment consistently and whose fiery attitude became as iconic as his pitching arm, was voted into the Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot.

So the first “true” Ray in Cooperstown — whether elected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America or one of the era committees (that handle older players and non-playing candidates) — likely will be someone who spent most of his career in Tampa Bay and/or did much of his best work there.

Ichiro Suzuki falling one vote short of unanimous election raised eyebrows, but it’s far from the biggest flub in Hall of Fame voting history.