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COOPERSTOWN — When Brian Cashman recruited CC Sabathia to play in New York prior to the 2009 season, he knew it would take more than just the promise of trying to win and a giant contract.
“I told him and Amber [Sabathia’s wife] we would make them comfortable in New York,’’ Cashman said Sunday, just prior to Sabathia’s induction speech. “I looked him in the eye — and threw a ton of money at him — but I knew he wasn’t sure about playing in New York. I think we both fulfilled our promise. He became a Hall of Fame pitcher and he and his family were just fine in New York. We both fulfilled our promise.”
If Sabathia’s speech Sunday was any indication, Cashman’s approach was the right one, since the big lefty spent nearly his entire 12-minute speech thanking the women in his life, from his wife to his mother Margie, both of whom were in attendance, to his grandmother and many aunts.
While Sabathia noted that he’d shown his appreciation for his father Corky, who died early in Sabathia’s career, he went out of his way to tell stories about people he believed may have been overshadowed.
From throwing grapefruits in his grandmother’s backyard as a youngster, which is where Sabathia said he first “realized I could throw hard,” Sabathia consistently brought up “the village of women who raised me … and a few times literally saved me.”
It was his mother, Sabathia said, who taught him to become a fan of the game and brought the native of Vallejo, Calif., to A’s games at the Oakland Coliseum, where Sabathia watched the 1989 World Series-winning team that included fellow Hall of Fame inductee Dave Parker, who died just a month before the ceremony.
His father helped teach Sabathia the game, but Margie was a significant part of his growth, as well.
“My mom loved the game, too,’’ Sabathia said. “She’d put the catching gear on and catch me in the backyard. My mom is the reason I’m a baseball fan. And fans turn into players who sometimes turn into Hall of Famers.”
Sabathia’s path to Cooperstown began in Cleveland, where he spent the first eight-plus seasons of his career after being a first-round pick of the organization in 1998.
And he solidified his status as an ace in 2008, after being traded to Milwaukee, where he consistently pitched on short rest to lead the Brewers to the postseason — even with free agency approaching.
But it was in The Bronx where Sabathia cemented his Hall of Fame credentials, pitching the final 11 seasons of his career and leading the Yankees to the 2009 World Series title.
“We had a very high assessment of him as a pitcher and that was obviously met, even before he was a Hall of Famer,’’ Cashman said.
Cashman credited Sabathia for changing the culture of the team at the time.
“I thought we had, in some ways, a broken clubhouse, and he had a reputation as a connector,’’ Cashman said. “He made a fantastic impact.”
That impact continues today, with his former teammates still citing Sabathia as an example for how they play.
Prior to his IL stint, Aaron Judge said Sabathia’s performance in 2019, when he pitched out of the bullpen in the postseason until his shoulder gave out, is a reason why he puts his body at risk in the outfield.
“Watching him go out there hurt and then basically throw until his arm came off, you can’t help but be motivated by that,’’ Judge said of Sabathia, who entered Game 4 of the ALCS against the Astros while pitching with left shoulder soreness and walked off the mound with a subluxation of his left shoulder.
“That last run was a great example,’’ Judge said. “He threw literally until he couldn’t throw anymore. I’ll never forget that. We didn’t finish it that year, but he knew if we were gonna get there, it was gonna take all of your body and soul.”
And on Sunday, it landed Sabathia in the Hall of Fame.
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