CC Sabathia was already immortalized in baseball history after being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025, but he will be joining an even more exclusive club in the Bronx later this year.The New York Yankees will retire Sabathia’s No. 52, adding him as the 23rd recipient of one of the greatest honors in sports. Sabathia’s name and number will enter the hallowed baseball ground 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, let alone 2009 when he joined the team as a free agent.After 11 seasons with the franchise, and one World Series ring among other accolades, he got the call from owner Hal Steinbrenner.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM”I just keep thinking about what a complete honor it is, and how excited I am to actually have my number retired by, probably, one of the best sports franchises in the world,” Sabathia told Fox News Digital two days after he got 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 get there, right? As a free agent, you’re coming in like, ‘I can never do enough to match Whitey Ford, or to match what Ron Guidry meant to this organization.’”To be able to actually have that come to fruition after 11 years and see that my number is going to be there and be retired, it’s more of a shock than going into the Hall of Fame, to be honest. I’m not going to say I feel more honored. Obviously, going into the Hall of Fame is the ultimate thing. But being in the Yankees Hall of Fame is a crazy select group of 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 an American League Cy Young Award winner, coming off a career-best 2.70 ERA with the then-Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Brewers when he entered free agency before the 2009 season.DEREK JETER DEFENDS YANKEES OWNER HAL STEINBRENNER AMID GROWING FAN CRITICISM OF TEAM’S TITLE DROUGHTSabathia was a top target for many teams across MLB, and he knew he could make an impact with whatever team he chose. But even Sabathia, who was nails on the mound every fifth day throughout his career up to that point, had at least some doubt creeping into his mind when the New York Yankees called about bringing his talents to the Bronx.”Even sitting back and thinking about how Cash [GM Brian Cashman] convinced me to come here,” Sabathia said. “I never even gave myself room to think about ending up in 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. You never about the guy who comes here and ends up in Monument Park.”Sabathia eventually agreed to a seven-year deal with the Yankees worth $161 mil
CC Sabathia on ‘shock’ of Yankees adding him to Monument Park, what he hopes fans remember forever
