Why Yankees' CC Sabathia is first-ballot Hall of Famer

CC Sabathia has checked all the essential boxes for a star major league starting pitcher. Yet as the longtime Yankee nears the end of his career, some question his Hall of Fame worthiness. In Yardbarker’s Ultimate Hall of Fame tiers, the lefthander is a Tier 3 guy -– an eventual Hall of Famer but not a first-ballot inductee.

That’s wrong.

Sabathia, who in March announced 2019 would be his last big-league season, merits a plaque in Cooperstown as soon as he’s eligible. Sabathia is a six-time all-star, the 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner, a 2009 World Series champion and recently surpassed the 3,000-strikeout milestone.

An ambassador for the game, Sabathia began his baseball journey in Vallejo, Calif., via the RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) program. He passed up an opportunity to play college football to stick with the game he loves. In a sport in which the number of African-American stars is declining, Sabathia has thrived as a leader and role model for nearly two decades.

Sabathia contemporaries such as Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander or postseason hero Madison Bumgarner are more celebrated. But when it comes to consistency, few can approach Sabathia over the past three decades.

Once baseball’s highest-paid pitcher, Sabathia stands up well in many categories when compared to other premier arms of the era. Over the first 12 years of their respective careers -– eight of which coincided — Sabathia eclipsed Verlander in wins (191 to 173), strikeouts (2,214 to 2,197) and shutouts (12 to 7). Each won a Cy Young Award during the stretch.

The peak of Kershaw, currently in his 12th season, ranks among the greats of all time. His career ERA (2.42) is more than a run better than Sabathia's (3.71). But some Sabathia numbers stand up well vs. the Dodgers' lefthander over the first 12 years of their respective careers. Kershaw won 30 fewer games (160), and Sabathia made 52 more starts (383 to 331) and has more seasons of 19 or more wins (four compared to three).

Sabathia is the premiere workhorse of his era, with 13 consecutive seasons of double-digit wins from 2001-2013. Aside from a 180.1 innings pitched in his rookie season and an injury-shortened 2014 season, he topped 190 innings in 12 of this first 14 seasons, averaging 216 innings and 32 starts per year. In an era of bullpen dominance, that is a remarkable statistic.

Excellence in one’s era should also matter greatly when it comes to Hall of Fame consideration. Check out these numbers:

• Sabathia has won 37 more games than any other pitcher whose career began since 2000.
• Of those whose careers that began since 1990, only Mike Mussina -– who will be inducted into Cooperstown on Sunday -– has more victories than Sabathia.
• His 3,057 strikeouts are the fifth most since 1990 and the most since 2000. With the exception of Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, every pitcher who has topped 3,000 strikeouts is in the Hall of Fame.
• His 3,546 innings are nearly 300 more than his closest competition (Mark Buehrle, 3,283.1).

Where Sabathia places among lefthanders in the past 50 years is even more impressive. He ranks …

• Third in strikeouts (3,057, behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton).
• Fifth in winning percentage (behind Johnson, Clayton Kershaw, Jon Lester and Andy Pettitte).
• Fifth in WAR (63.0, behind Johnson, Carlton, Kershaw and Tom Glavine).

Detractors of Sabathia’s first-ballot case may look at his career ERA (3.71) and 63.0 WAR, 10 win shares lower than the average Hall of Famer, as huge negatives. But his WAR falls in range of no-doubt Hall of Famers Juan Marichal and Bob Feller and within range of Roy Halladay, who will be posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday. 

According to famed baseball stats geek Bill James’ similarity score, Sabathia’s career closest resembles that of Hall of Famer Jack Morris and Curt Schilling. Morris, who won 256 games, had a 3.90 career ERA. Schilling, who won 216 games and had a 3.46 ERA, has a good case to be in the Hall, too.

Sabathia clearly is among the upper-echelon performers of his era and among the top pitchers of all time. As Major League Baseball evolves, the traditional Hall of Fame standards for starters change. Endurance milestones, such as 300 wins, are no longer the be-all, end-all determining factor for Hall of Fame inclusion. Sabathia is certainly Hall of Fame worthy.

A first-ballot guy? No doubt, too.