A year after being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a first-ballot selection, the New York Yankees announced Wednesday that CC Sabathia’s No. 52 jersey will be retired on Sept. 26, with a plaque dedicated in Monument Park prior to that day’s game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Sabathia becomes the 24th player or manager to have a number retired by the Yankees and the first since Paul O’Neill was honored in 2022. He joins fellow members of the 2009 World Series championship core whose numbers already hang in the Bronx, including Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. Sabathia will also join Jeter and Pettitte with plaques beyond the center-field fence at Yankee Stadium.
Signed with the Yankees as a free agent ahead of the 2009 season, Sabathia spent 11 seasons in pinstripes, compiling a 134–88 record with a 3.81 ERA across 307 games (306 starts). During his Yankees tenure, he was a three-time American League All-Star and finished as high as third in Cy Young Award voting in 2010. His most enduring impact came during New York’s 2009 postseason run, when he delivered a 1.98 ERA over five games and 36⅓ innings, earning AL Championship Series MVP honors en route to a World Series title.
Over a 19-year Major League career with Cleveland, Milwaukee and New York, Sabathia finished 251–161 with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts. He is one of only four left-handed pitchers to surpass 3,000 strikeouts, joining Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton and Clayton Kershaw. He also won the 2007 American League Cy Young Award with Cleveland before capturing a championship in his first season with the Yankees.
Sabathia was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2025 and has remained active in the game since retiring after the 2019 season, serving as a special assistant to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. In recent years, Cleveland has honored him with induction into the Guardians’ Hall of Fame and the dedication of a youth baseball field, further cementing his legacy as one of the most impactful pitchers of his generation.
