CC Sabathia on 'shock' of Yankees adding him to Monument Park, what he hopes fans remember forever
CC Sabathia was already immortalized in baseball history after being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025, but he will be joining an even more exclusive club in the Bronx later this year.
The New York Yankees will retire Sabathia's No. 52, adding him as the 23rd recipient of one of the greatest honors in sports. Sabathia's name and number will enter the hallowed baseball ground that is Monument Park, which sits behind the center field wall at Yankee Stadium – a place Sabathia had always admired but never thought he would enter even today, let alone 2009 when he joined the team as a free agent.
After 11 seasons with the franchise, and one World Series ring among other accolades, he got the call from owner Hal Steinbrenner.
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"I just keep thinking about what a complete honor it is, and how excited I am to actually have my number retired by, probably, one of the best sports franchises in the world," Sabathia told Fox News Digital two days after he got the call that his number would be retired. "When you first show up in New York, you see all the numbers. You understand Monument Park, but you never think you can get there, right? As a free agent, you’re coming in like, ‘I can never do enough to match Whitey Ford, or to match what Ron Guidry meant to this organization.’
"To be able to actually have that come to fruition after 11 years and see that my number is going to be there and be retired, it’s more of a shock than going into the Hall of Fame, to be honest. I’m not going to say I feel more honored. Obviously, going into the Hall of Fame is the ultimate thing. But being in the Yankees Hall of Fame is a crazy select group of players who have done some really good things in baseball history. To be a part of that group is really special."
Sabathia was a three-time All-Star and an American League Cy Young Award winner, coming off a career-best 2.70 ERA with the then-Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers when he entered free agency before the 2009 season.
Sabathia was a top target for many teams across MLB, and he knew he could make an impact with whatever team he chose. But even Sabathia, who was nails on the mound every fifth day throughout his career up to that point, had at least some doubt creeping into his mind when the New York Yankees called about bringing his talents to the Bronx.
"Even sitting back and thinking about how Cash [GM Brian Cashman] convinced me to come here," Sabathia said. "I never even gave myself room to think about ending up in Monument Park, or how it would end. You see so many free agents come here, whether it’s the media, the pressure of pitching in the Bronx with the pinstripes, and that’s all you hear about. You never about the guy who comes here and ends up in Monument Park."
Sabathia eventually agreed to a seven-year deal with the Yankees worth $161 million, and yes, Cashman put in an opt-out after three seasons because not even Sabathia was immune to the pressure of pitching in the Bronx.
But he accomplished what everyone who joins the Yankees hopes to do in pinstripes: Win a World Series. He did so in his inaugural season, leading a rotation that also featured free-agent newcomer A.J. Burnett and fellow Monument Park member, Andy Pettitte. And after those three seasons, it was an easy decision for Sabathia to opt in, adding another season on top of the remaining years he had left.
Sabathia pitched to a 3.81 ERA over 307 Yankees starts (1,918 innings) with 1,700 strikeouts, which landed him above the rare 3,000-strikeout mark. Only three lefties in MLB history had accomplished the feat prior to Sabathia.
So, what began as not necessarily knowing what would happen by making the Bronx home, quickly turned into embracing the vibrant, raucous city and fan base. Even today, Sabathia is still called out when he's walking near E. 161st Street or attending a game at Yankee Stadium, which he said is around 50 per year.
"I loved every moment of my time in the Bronx, and the energy that everybody brought," he said. "The days that I started, I would drive through the Bronx. I would drive down Jermone Ave., windows down, blasting my music just to kinda get a feel for the people and the energy and get ready for what I’m about to do.
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"It was hard to come here because it is so much, but I loved every bit of being a part of the Yankee Universe with the fans and organization. I’m excited to be able to address them and get in front of them and talk about the accountability they hold for every player who puts on the pinstripes."
Even as a 20-year-old thriving in Cleveland's minor league system knew what the pinstripes meant to every baseball player, as the Indians called him back from the Sydney Olympics in 2000 to potentially make his big league debut in the Bronx. Sabathia's first trip to Monument Park has quite the story.
"I had made the Olympic team. I was going to pitch in the Olympics," he began. "[I] went to the opening ceremony, I get called that night. The Indians needed me to come back to New York, because they had a bunch of doubleheaders in Boston and New York, and they may need me to pitch. So, I fly from Australia to San Diego, spend the night over there. Then, fly to Winter Haven, [Florida] which is where our spring training was, and then they flew me up to New York.
"Next day, I wake up and I’m supposed to throw a bullpen, so I get to the stadium and I actually went the wrong way. I walked all the way down the tunnel at the [old] stadium, and I ended up in the batting cage. There were some guys in there, I think Moose [Mike Mussina] was down there doing his work, and he points me back to the other direction all the way through the other side of the stadium to where you had to walk through Monument Park, because Monument Park was in the bullpen. So, I’m walking through and I see all these different statues and all this different stuff, and my pitching coach is standing there pissed off at me because now I’m 15 minutes late."
Unfortunately, Sabathia didn't make his MLB debut until the 2001 season, as pitching coach Dick Pole saw him throw just three pitches and determined, "Hell, he ain't ready," as the 45-year-old chuckled just thinking about the moment.
"I throw like 10 more pitches, and I walk through Monument Park to kinda take it all in," he added. "When I went back in, there was a ticket in my seat to go back home."
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It's fun and gratifying for Sabathia to look back now and see all that he went through. Of course, he did so last year, entering that illustrious Hall in Cooperstown. But he never expected to be remembered forever by one of the most iconic sports franchises in the world.
Then again, he went out on the mound and gave his all when it was his turn to take the field, just like all the other players whose numbers reside in Monument Park. In fact, Sabathia quite literally threw until his arm fell off – he suffered a left shoulder dislocation during Game 4 of the ALCS in 2019. And Sabathia is currently rehabbing a knee replacement, which he says he’s been putting off since retirement as well.
But he knew that's what was needed to pitch for the Yankees in the Bronx, where fans hold everyone accountable no matter their stature in the league. Whether you're a Cy Young winner like Sabathia then, or a three-time MVP like Aaron Judge today, fans don't discriminate when it comes to jeers for bad performances.
It's something Sabathia loves most about the Bronx, and he can't wait to tell them on Sept. 26 when his number enters Monument Park and sits on that wall behind the bleachers in left field.
"I think I will always think about the accountability that the fans hold you to. It’s something that I’m grateful for. You never really get a chance to let up when you’re in New York, and like Jeet [Derek Jeter] always used to say, ‘Stay humble.’ It keeps you humble no matter how good you are," he said.
When Sabathia sees his new plaque that will spend an eternity in Monument Park, he will read exactly what he meant to the Yankees franchise, and more importantly, why he belongs with the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and many more. As someone who was willing to throw at a divisional rival and get ejected as retaliation for an earlier plunk, throwing away $500,000 in an incentive bonus in the process, Sabathia knows what he would want written for Yankees fans now and forever to view when they walk through Monument Park.
"He left everything out there. He was the ultimate teammate and literally left everything out there every time he took the ball. Every fifth day," Sabathia said.
"How much I competed, how much I wanted to win. I literally left everything out there. My shoulder, my knee. But I always strived to be the best teammate I could be, and hopefully they can include that into the plaque."
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