CC Sabathia on what it means for the Yankees to retire his number 52

CC Sabathia was already immortalized in baseball history after being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025, but he will join an even more exclusive club in the Bronx later this year.

The New York Yankees will retire Sabathia’s number 52, adding him to the 23rd recipient of one of sports’ highest honors. Sabathia’s name and number will be inscribed on the hallowed ballpark that is Monument Park, which sits behind the center field wall at Yankee Stadium — a place Sabathia had always admired but never thought he would enter, even today, much less in 2009, when he joined the team as a free agent.

After 11 seasons with the franchise and an appearance in the World Series among other accolades, he got the call from owner Hal Steinbrenner.

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“I just keep thinking about what a great honor it is and how excited I am to have my number retired by, probably, one of the best sports franchises in the world,” Sabathia told PK Press Club Digital two days after receiving the call that his number would be retired. “When you first show up in New York, you see all the numbers. You understand Monument Park, but you never think you can make it there, do you? As a free agent, you say to yourself, ‘I can never do enough to match Whitey Ford, or to match what Ron Guidry meant to this organization.’

“To be able to make this happen after 11 years and see that my number is going to be there and be retired, it’s more of a shock than getting into the Hall of Fame, to be honest. I’m not going to say I feel more honored. Obviously getting into the Hall of Fame is the ultimate thing. But being in the Hall of Fame the Yankees are a select group of crazy players who have done some really good things in baseball history. To be a part of that group is really special.”

Sabathia was a three-time All-Star and American League Cy Young Award winner, having posted a career-best 2.70 ERA with the Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers when he entered free agency before the 2009 season.

Sabathia was a top target for many MLB teams, and he knew he could make an impact with the team of his choice. But even Sabathia, who was nailed to the mound every five days throughout his career up to that point, had at least one doubt in his mind when the New York Yankees called him up to bring his talents to the Bronx.

“Even sitting and thinking about how Cash [GM Brian Cashman] convinced me to come here,” Sabathia said. “I never even gave myself a chance to think about finishing at Monument Park, or how it would end. You see so many free agents come here, whether it’s the media, the pressure of pitching in the Bronx with the pinstripes, and that’s all you hear about. We never talk about the guy who comes here and ends up in Monument Park. »

Sabathia ultimately agreed to a seven-year contract with the Yankees worth $161 million, and yes, Cashman opted out after three seasons, because even Sabathia wasn’t immune to the pressure of pitching in the Bronx.

But he accomplished what everyone who joins the Yankees hopes to do in pinstripes: win a World Series. He did so in his inaugural season, leading a rotation that also included free agent newcomer AJ Burnett and Monument Park colleague Andy Pettitte. And after those three seasons, it was an easy decision for Sabathia to sign up, adding another season on top of the years he had left.

CC Sabathia of the New York Yankees celebrates in the dugout with a copy of the New York Post after their 7-3 victory against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6 of the 2009 World Series at Yankee Stadium on November 4, 2009 in the Bronx borough of New York. (Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Sabathia pitched to a 3.81 ERA over 307 Yankees starts (1,918 innings) with 1,700 strikeouts, which put him above the rare 3,000 strikeout mark. Only three lefties in MLB history had accomplished this feat before Sabathia.

So what started out as not necessarily knowing what would happen with moving to the Bronx, quickly blossomed into a vibrant, loud city and fan base. Even today, Sabathia still gets stopped when he walks near E. 161st Street or attends a game at Yankee Stadium, which he estimates is about 50 a year.

“I loved every moment of my time in the Bronx and the energy that everyone brought,” he said. “The days I started, I would drive through the Bronx. I would drive down Jermone Ave., windows down, blasting my music just to get a feel for the people and the energy and prepare myself for what I’m about to do.

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“It was tough coming here because it’s so much, but I loved being a part of the Yankee universe with the fans and the organization. I’m excited to be able to address them and stand in front of them and talk about the responsibility they have to every player that wears the pinstripes.”

Even as a 20-year-old thriving in Cleveland’s minor league system, he knew what pinstripes meant to every baseball player, when the Indians called him up from the 2000 Sydney Olympics to potentially make his big league debut in the Bronx. Sabathia’s first trip to Monument Park tells quite a story.

“I had made the Olympic team. I was going to throw in the Olympics,” he began. “[I] I went to the opening ceremony, they called me that evening. The Indians needed me to come back to New York, because they had a bunch of doubleheaders in Boston and New York, and they might need me to pitch. So I’m flying from Australia to San Diego, spending the night there. Then fly to Winter Haven, [Florida] That’s where our spring training was, and then they took me to New York.

CC Sabathia of the New York Yankees waves to the crowd as he is honored before a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on September 22, 2019 in New York. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

“The next day I wake up and I’m supposed to throw a bullpen, so I get to the stadium and I took the wrong route. I went all the way through the tunnel at the stadium. [old] stadium, and I found myself in the batting cage. There were some guys in there, I think Moose [Mike Mussina] was out there doing his job, and he pointed me the other way, across the stadium, to where we had to cross Monument Park, because Monument Park was in the bullpen. So I’m walking around and I see all these different statues and all these different things, and my pitching coach is there, mad at me because now I’m 15 minutes late. »

Unfortunately, Sabathia didn’t make his MLB debut until the 2001 season, when pitching coach Dick Pole saw him throw just three pitches and determined, “Damn, he’s not ready,” as the 45-year-old laughed just thinking about the moment.

“I throw about 10 more pitches and run through Monument Park to get it all figured out,” he added. “When I got home, there was a ticket on my seat to go home.”

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It’s fun and rewarding for Sabathia to look back now and see everything he’s been through. Of course, he did it last year, walking into that illustrious hall in Cooperstown. But he didn’t expect that one of the world’s most iconic sports franchises would remember him forever.

Then again, he came out on the mound and gave it his all when it was his turn to take the field, just like every other player whose numbers reside at Monument Park. In fact, Sabathia literally threw until his arm fell off — he suffered a dislocated left shoulder in Game 4 of the ALCS in 2019. And Sabathia is currently rehabbing for a knee replacement, which he says he’s also put off since retiring.

But he knew it was what it took to pitch for the Yankees in the Bronx, where fans hold everyone accountable, regardless of their stature in the league. Whether you’re a Cy Young winner like Sabathia back then, or a three-time MVP like Aaron Judge today, fans don’t discriminate when it comes to making fun of poor performances.

That’s something Sabathia loves most about the Bronx, and he can’t wait to tell them that on Sept. 26 when his act walks into Monument Park and sits on that wall behind the bleachers in left field.

CC Sabathia poses for a photo with his plaque during the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Clark Sports Center on July 27, 2025 in Cooperstown, New York. (New York Yankees/Getty Images)

“I think I’ll always think about the responsibility the fans put on you. It’s something I’m grateful for. You never really get a chance to let go when you’re in New York, and like Jeet [Derek Jeter] we always said: “Remain humble”. It keeps you humble no matter how good you are,” he said.

When Sabathia sees his new plaque that will remain in Monument Park for an eternity, he will read exactly what he meant to the Yankees franchise and, more importantly, why he belongs to Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and many others. As someone willing to take on a division rival and get himself ejected in retaliation for an earlier hit, throwing away $500,000 in bonus incentives in the process, Sabathia knows what he would want to write for Yankees fans to see now and forever as they walk through Monument Park.

“He left it all out there. He was the ultimate teammate and he literally left it all out there every time he took the ball. Every five days,” Sabathia said.

“How hard I competed, how much I wanted to win. I literally left everything behind. My shoulder, my knee. But I always strived to be the best teammate I could be, and I hope they can include that at the plate.”

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