CC Sabathia is the New York Yankees’ good luck charm. When the retired Yankee pitcher threw the ceremonial first pitch on March 29, the team proceeded to make history with a franchise-first nine home runs in one game. In 2009, he helped to christen the new Yankee Stadium with the venue’s first championship win (not to mention his own).
Over an 18-year career spanning stints with Cleveland, Milwaukee, and, of course, New York, Sabathia pitched his way into Cooperstown, making up one-third of this year’s Hall of Fame inductees (alongside Ichiro Suzuki and Billy Wagner). The Cy Young Award winner got 86.8% of the vote, and his long history of breaking records makes it easy to see why he joins the likes of former first-ballot inductee teammates like Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter. From being one of just a handful of pitchers to reach 3,000 strikeouts to being a two-time most-winningest MLB player, Sabathia’s resume has no shortage of impressive feats. The soon-to-be Hall of Famer, who recently partnered with Xyzal just as baseball and allergy season ramp up, talks here about the Yankees past and present, and why those funky torpedo bats are actually a good thing for baseball.
GQ: Congrats on the Hall of Fame induction. How’s it feel to be inducted on the first ballot?
CC Sabathia: Oh, it feels good. It was exciting. I think times are changing. If you look at my career, probably 15 years ago, I’m not a first-ballot Hall of Famer. If you look at the [Baseball Writers’ Association of America] back then, they were trying to figure out ways of not putting guys into the Hall of Fame. And I feel like the writers today are trying to figure out how to get more guys into the Hall of Fame. And getting me in the first ballot will hopefully open it up for some other guys during my generation. Some guys I feel should be in the Hall of Fame should be Kenny Lofton, Andrew Jones—all these different guys. So hopefully they can take another look at these guys.
You’re wearing a Yankee hat now, and you had a huge career with them. What made you decide to be immortalized with them on your plaque at Cooperstown?
I don’t think it was a hard decision. You know, I played here 11 years; I still live here. I’m still part of this community. I still work for the Yankees. Cleveland was such a big part of my story. I tell people all the time: I was born and raised in California, but I grew up in Cleveland, and it’s such a huge part of my story. And I don’t think I would be sitting here today had I not got drafted by the organization. But, you know, heading to the Bronx, putting on the pinstripes, winning a championship here, I mean, there’s, there’s no other place to do it right? So to be able to wear this cap, to me, is an honor. So I’m just excited to be able to wear the hat in Coopertown.
I love it! Everything else about being a Yankee is awesome—the Steinbrenner family, the organization, wearing the pinstripes, playing in the Bronx, all of the fans—but having to shave because of a mandated thing was the worst part. So I’m pretty sure everybody who played with me is like, “Oh this thing’s 10 years too late.”
You came back to Yankee Stadium on Saturday to throw the first pitch [against the Milwaukee Brewers] during which the Yankees hit a franchise-record of nine home runs in one game. How do you feel about being a part of that history-making game?
I was excited. It was fun to be able to watch them break out. I think there’s been so many questions about what this team is going to be, right? Adding Belli, [Paul] Goldschmidt; taking Juan Soto out of that lineup; having Jazz [Chisholm] for a full season. It was great to see them bust out that weekend and have a great game. But to have been there on Saturday and watch them get nine home runs is incredible.
The Yankees have been experimenting with new “torpedo bats.” How do you feel about those?
I’m excited about the innovation. For the longest time I feel like the scales have been tipping towards the pitchers. So now we have something that kind of balances that out, helping guys with the two-seamers that are barreling down on them. I think it can only help the offense, and it’s something that, working with the league, we’ve been trying to improve for years. And hopefully this can help.
As a pitcher, how would you switch up your pitches when dealing with with a hitter who’s using with a torpedo bat?
I don’t think I would. I think for me as a pitcher, I always pitch to my strengths, right? I never tired to pitch to your weakness or whoever’s weakness. Like, if a guy is good on cutters, then we’re gonna see who’s better today. I can’t really change what I do based on a [hitter] being good on one thing in particular or not.
How had seasonal allergies affected your playing baseball?
Allergies was was something that I’ve dealt with my whole life. It’s been really, really hard for me. I was just telling somebody that I watch my 14-year-old now, and he’s going through what I went through as a kid. When I was a kid, I used to bring like, big rolls of toilet paper to school, because my nose was running all the time. [Xyzal’s] been huge for me in retirement, and I spend so much time on the golf course. I spent so much time at the baseball field that this has been, it’s been a huge, huge help for me, and I’m excited about this [partnership].
What’s been your favorite moment when you were playing with the Yankees?
I mean, obviously winning the World Series. But I think my coolest moments are watching my teammates accomplish cool things. Like watching Mo get 600 saves, watching Jeter get 3,000 hits, watching A-Rod get 3,000 hits. Having a chance to play with Ichiro—so many Hall of Famers and great players. Yeah, watching Derek get 3,000 hits [the first Yankee to do so] was awesome.
Three-thousand hits for him, 3,000 strikeouts for you. Have you talked to any of your former Hall of Famer teammates since the announcement? And how did you celebrate?
I’ve talked to Derek; I’ve talked to Mo; I’ve talked to a lot of the guys. But, you know, I’m sure we’ll have a celebration. It’s coming this summer, in July.
Who’d you connect with most when you were playing with the Yankees?
You know, I was really close with Raúl Ibañez. Obviously I was close with Derek, Mo, Andy, Gardi, Brett Gardner, was probably the guy. He’s the guy that I played with the longest in my career. You know, we played together for 11, 12 years. Our families were really close, and he’s probably the guy that I was closest with, because I played with him for the longest.
The Yankees haven’t won a World Series since you were on the team in 2009. How does that make you feel?
Sad!