Cleveland Guardians great C.C. Sabathia will finally get the honor he deserves.
The southpaw was one of the few players inducted into the Hall of Fame class of 2025.
With that in mind, former Guardians G.M. John Hart took a trip down memory lane to recall what he saw in him when he took him in the 1998 MLB Draft.
Talking on MLB Network Radio, he gushed about Sabathia’s unfazed attitude and how he always seemed ready to deliver in big moments.
John Hart, who drafted CC Sabathia in 1998, remembers the first-ballot Hall of Famer making his debut as a 20-year-old in 2001.@CleGuardians | #ForTheLand | @Yankees | #RepBX | @baseballhall
🔗https://t.co/fGPbvbj8w4 pic.twitter.com/8dIQZ0GlOG— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) January 22, 2025
While control was often an issue with him, they just thought he was someone to be trusted night in and night out.
He wasn’t wrong.
Sabathia climbed his way up the minor league system, and after three years, he came out blazing in his first season in The Show.
At just 20 years old, Sabathia had a 17-5 record in 33 starts, logging a 4.39 ERA, 171 strikeouts, and a 1.353 WHIP.
He led the league in hits allowed per 9 innings at just 7.4.
It would be the beginning of an epic career that saw him win 106 games in eight seasons with the Guardians, with whom he also made three All-Star teams.
Sabathia would go on to dominate with the New York Yankees after a brief stint with the Milwaukee Brewers.
It was a shame that he didn’t get to stay in Cleveland for longer, but one thing’s for sure: He was a true joy to watch there more often than not, and he rarely failed to deliver when it mattered the most.
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