Before we start, let me say this: I love CC Sabathia. As a Red Sox fan, I still have nightmares from his time with the Yankees. He was, at times, the most dominant pitcher of that era. Just a force on the mound, and an absolute bulldog in terms of innings.
Sabathia was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame last year, and rightfully so. He was a no-brainer.
With all that being said … the Milwaukee Brewers’ induction of Sabathia into their Wall of Honor on Friday was met with some … confusion.
For those who don’t follow everything Brewers baseball, Sabathia was put on the wall before Friday’s game against the Yankees. He got a shiny new plaque and all. It was a cool moment.
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It was all well and good, except for one thing: CC Sabathia played in Milwaukee for half a season in 2008. He made 17 starts. His one playoff start wasn’t great.
Yes, he was incredible during the regular season stretch. Frankly, it was one of the best stretches of pitching I’ve ever seen at the major league level.
But he made … 17 starts. And he’s now on the Wall of Honor? Odd. I thought it was odd. A quick check of social media showed I wasn’t alone:
Where do we stand on this?
I could go on and on. It’s a bloodbath over on Elon’s social media app right now. Isn’t it always?
Where do we stand on this? Again, I love CC. The guy was an elite pitcher for a long time back in the day. One could argue that his stretch in Milwaukee was one of the most memorable stretches in MLB history. Seriously, it was that dominant.
LOOK at these numbers: 11-2, 1.62 ERA, seven complete games (!!!) and three shutouts.
Again, you just don’t see numbers like that anymore. He was the last of a dying breed. Just an animal on the mound.
Perhaps that’s enough to get you on the Brewers’ Wall of Honor? I don’t know. The obvious elephant in the room is the fact that he only played for the team for three months. He made 17 starts, lost a postseason game, and he was off to New York the following season.
Does that really warrant a plaque and a place on the wall? I don’t know. Kyle Schwarber’s run with the Red Sox in 2021 for half a season was pretty good. He hit one of the most electric home runs in recent postseason memory in Game 3 of the ALCS against Houston.
Should he be in the Red Sox hypothetical Wall of Honor? There are dozens of examples of rental players doing incredible things for their temporary teams after the trade deadline.
Did any of them put up the numbers CC Sabathia did in Milwaukee? Probably not.
Does that justify the induction? That’s up for debate.
