Earlier tonight, it was announced that former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher CC Sabathia was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is joined by former Seattle Mariners legend Ichiro Suzuki and former Houston Astros closer Billy Wagner. Both Sabathia and Ichiro were on the ballot for the first time, with the southpaw hurler getting 86.8% of votes and the timeless hitter getting 99.7%, just one vote shy of 100%.
Weeks prior to his election, Sabathia revealed that he would go into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee if he were to be make it. He spent 11 of his 19 seasons with the New York Yankees, and seven-and-a-half for the Cleveland Indians.
After the announcement, though, he did express his appreciation and love for Milwaukee and the Brewers organization.
Former Milwaukee Brewers Pitcher CC Sabathia Loved His Time with the Organization
According to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sabathia had some really sentimental things to say about his time in Milwaukee.
When asked if he would ever pitch on three days rest four times in a row like he did for the Brewers during the summer of 2008, he said, “Absolutely. If it was the same crew of guys. It was about that team I had.”
He added, “I’m very thankful to Milwaukee for trading for me, and having that run I did there.”
A great deal is made today about the amazing culture that the Brewers have created within their clubhouse. It seems like that kind of environment was around back in 2008, too.
CC Sabathia shouted out David Riske, Mike Cameron, Bill Hall, Rickie Weeks, and Prince Fielder as the reasons why he felt so comfortable after being traded to Milwaukee.
“I felt like I left a big impression on Milwaukee, but Milwaukee has left a huge impression on me.”
— Curt Hogg (@CyrtHogg) January 22, 2025
In 17 starts for the Brewers during that magical summer, Sabathia was 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA. He threw seven complete games, including three shutouts.
And as amazing as those numbers are, he had three complete games (two shutouts) before the trade happened.
This means that, for 2008 as a whole, he threw 10 complete games and five shoutouts.
No pitcher has thrown that many complete games in a season since. Sabathia could have just looked ahead to free agency and saved his body looking to cash in a huge payday.
But he did not want to do that. He loved the Brewers and his teammates and was willing to put it all on the line to get Milwaukee into the playoffs for the first time in 26 years.
Of course, he ended up with a big payday anyway, but he was not thinking about that at the time.
He was thinking about the city, the fans, and his teammates.
And that is something Brewers fans still appreciate about him.
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