CC Sabathia Voted Into Baseball Hall Of Fame; Third ‘Black Ace’ To Make It In

The World Series champion will be enshrined in Cooperstown on July 27.

Former New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, Jan. 21, becoming the third of 15 “Black Aces”—a Black pitcher who won more than 20 games in a season—to earn baseball’s highest honor.

Sabathia won 21 games with the Yankees in 2010. He joins Ferguson Jenkins, who won 20 games from 1967 to 1972 and 1974, and Bob Gibson, who reached the milestone five times, in Cooperstown.

The three men also won the Cy Young Award, which is given to the best pitcher in the American and National Leagues. Gibson, one of the most dominant pitchers of the 1960s, won it twice during his lengthy career with the St. Louis Cardinals.

CC you in Cooperstown.#LegaCCy | @CC_Sabathia pic.twitter.com/EJuBlga2JH

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) January 21, 2025

USA Today reported that Sabathia did say that he wished that Jim “Mudcat” Grant were alive to hear the news of him making it to the Hall of Fame.

“I got a chance to meet Mudcat Grant younger in my career,” Sabathia said. “I didn’t understand what it meant to win 20 games as a Black starting pitcher. He made sure that I understood what it would mean.

“I’m very appreciative of having him in my life, and in my career, and just happy I was able to fulfill this dream he put in front of me.”

Sabathia won 251 games during his career and won the American League Cy Young Award in 2007. He also appeared in six All-Star Games. He played for three teams: the Yankees, the Cleveland Guardians, and the Milwaukee Brewers.

The left-hander will be enshrined in Cooperstown on July 27 along with Ichiro Suzuki, Billy Wagner, the late Dick Allen, and Dave Parker at the Clark Sports Center.