CC Sabathia Voted Into Baseball Hall Of Fame Becoming Third Member Of The ‘Black Aces’ to Make It In
Former New York Yankees pitcher, CC Sabathia has been voted into the coveted Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, Jan. 21, and by doing so he becomes the latest “Black Ace” (A Black pitcher who won more than 20 games in a single season) to make it to Cooperstown.
According to Major League Baseball, Sabathia who won 21 games with the Yankees during the 2010 season is the third member of the “Black Aces” to make it to the Hall of Fame. The other Black Aces are Don Newcombe (1951, ’55, ’56), Sam Jones (’59), Jim “Mudcat” Grant (1965), Bob Gibson (’65, ’66, ’68-70), Fergie Jenkins (’67-72, ’74), Earl Wilson (’67), Vida Blue (’71, ’73, ’75), Al Downing (’71), J.R. Richard (’76), Mike Norris (1980), Dwight Gooden (’85), Dave Stewart (’87-90), Dontrelle Willis (2005) and David Price (2012). Gibson and Jenkins are the other two Black Aces enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
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 get the news of him making it to the Hall of Fame. Grant was instrumental in Sabathia’s career.
“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 while appearing in six All-Star Games. He played for three teams, the Yankees, the Cleveland Indians, and the Milwaukee Brewers.
The left-handed pitcher will be enshrined in Cooperstown on July 27 along with Ichiro Suzuki, Billy Wagner, Dick Allen (posthumously), and Dave Parker at the Clark Sports Center.
CC Sabathia Voted Into Baseball Hall Of Fame Becoming Third Member Of The ‘Black Aces’ to Make It In
