CLEVELAND — The city of Cleveland means the world to former MLB pitcher CC Sabathia.
"I grew up in California but I grew into a man here in Cleveland. I got here at 17 years old, I bought my first home here. Three out of the four of my kids were born here, so many firsts happened for me here—I got married here," Sabathia recalled. "So a lot of life changes, a lot of growing up happened here in Cleveland so it's always going to be a special place to me and my family."
But Sabathia means plenty to Cleveland as well.
One of the best pitchers in Cleveland's baseball history, Sabathia was drafted by the then-Indians in 1998 and took the mound in the minor league system for three years, starting his rookie year in 2001 at the age of 20.
Through 2008, Sabathia finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting (only behind winner Ichiro Suzuki), made three All-Star appearances (he'd go on to make three more) and won the AL Cy Young Award after a season that saw him record a 3.21 ERA, 209 strikeouts and 19-7 record.
The years Sabathia spent in Cleveland were impressive, and what followed after the team traded him to the Brewers and he later signed with the Yankees was Baseball Hall of Fame worthy.
A World Series victory, two MLB wins leader titles, and those additional All-Star appearances put Sabathia among the greats.
Now retired and nearing his five-year mark of being removed from playing Major League Baseball and eligibility for Hall of Fame ballot inclusion, Sabathia is expected to have a forever home in Cooperstown, New York—inside the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
Before that day, however, Sabathia will have a forever home in the city that grew him—with an induction into the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame on Saturday.
"I think it will be surreal. I think it will be humbling. It was a long road," Sabathia said. " I don't think my career turns out the way it does... had I not gotten drafted by Cleveland in 1998 I don't think I'm having this conversation or thinking about Cooperstown next year."
Sabathia is grateful to the organization for helping him develop as a player, and grateful to the city for helping him develop as a person. So before his induction, Sabathia took time to give back at his PitCChin Foundation Baseball ProCamp.
Held at Luke Easter Park in Cleveland on the aptly named CC Sabathia Field, the soon-to-be Hall of Famer spent time with 200 boys and girls in grades 1-8, helping them learn baseball fundamentals and get hands-on instruction from one of the best.
Matt Kaulig, a minority owner of the Guardians and founder of Kaulig Giving which sponsored the camp, was thrilled to see the reaction of the children at the camp.
"To see all these kids even out here today and wanting to see him and get his autograph and get their picture with him and then learn about baseball from one of the best ever is really cool," Kaulig said.
Sabathia was greeted with big smiles and a lot of high-fives from his little fans at the camp, and he made sure to encourage them to have fun, something he always remembered to do in every game he played.
For Sabathia, the day with the kids was a perfect kickoff to a weekend celebrating all of his accomplishments in Cleveland—because he's still giving back to the city he first called home at 17.
"It makes it super special to still have these connections to the city like with Kaulig Giving, like with the Guardians. To be able to come out here to Luke Eatser Park, CC Sabathia Field, and throw a camp ahead of going into the Guardians Hall of Fame, it just sums up the whole weekend and what my career was about," Sabathia said. 'Just seeing my number on the backs of these kids' shirts because when I first came up, 52 was just the first number they put in my locker, and to see now that kids are wearing it all over the place is pretty cool."
