Roots of Fight Celebrate CC Sabathia
CC Sabathia’s career with the New York Yankees played out like a Little Leaguer’s wildest dreams. The hardest thing to do is to pick a single moment from his legendary run in pinstripes.
How about October 12, 2012. Yankee Stadium. A crisp autumn night in the Bronx. Game 5 of the ALDS. CC on the mound after pitching a gem in Game 1. Team on his back, and him carrying that weight inning after inning. Pitches firing across the plate like promises — like declarations — that he’d never let them lose. Fist pump. Sit them down.
Complete game victory. New York wins 3-1.
When you zoom out from the kid who grew up in hardscrabble Vallejo, California, CC’s life becomes extraordinary. A six-time Major League All-Star, a World Series Champion, a Cy Young Winner and American League MVP. He was black kid who dreamed big, and a proud member of the Black Aces who won 21 games 2010 while endearing himself forever to New York. The youngest pitcher in the league when he debuted with Cleveland at 20 years old and sure-fire Hall of Famer when retired 19 years later a Yankee.
CC pitched his heart out every time he took the mound. An idol of the Bronx, and a fan favorite who never was anything other than who he was. Forever a son. Forever a father and a husband. Forever black. Forever North Bay, and more specifically forever “The Crest” neighborhood he grew up in. Forever a kid dreaming of the big leagues, who didn’t stop dreaming even as he made it all come true.
As part of Roots of Fight’s CC Sabathia series, we are paying tribute to the great pitcher and New York legend, CC Sabathia.
