CC Sabathia Says Yankees Retiring His Number Feels 'Bigger Than' Being Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame (Exclusive)
CC Sabathia Says Yankees Retiring His Number Feels 'Bigger Than' Being Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame (Exclusive)
Greta BjornsonFri, March 27, 2026 at 7:18 PM UTC
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CC Sabathia with his Hall of Fame plaque during the 2025 National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Induction Ceremony at Clark Sports Center on July 27, 2025 in Cooperstown, New York.Credit: Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty -
CC Sabathia was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025, and will be honored once again this year when the Yankees retire his number
The legendary pitcher — who was No. 52 while playing for the Yankees — tells PEOPLE it's "surreal" that his number will be officially retired by the team this fall
Sabathia recently participated in MLB Opening Night, where he provided commentary on Netflix alongside Matt Vasgersian and Hunter Pence
CC Sabathia has seen countless highlights over his 19-season MLB career, but perhaps his biggest honor yet will take place this fall.
The former New York Yankee will experience a milestone when the team retires his number and dedicates a plaque in his honor before their Sept. 26 game at Monument Park against the Baltimore Orioles.
Sabathia, 45, may no longer play in the league, but he's very much still a member of the MLB family. The athlete joined Netflix on March 25 as a booth analyst for the streamer's live broadcast of MLB Opening Night, where the San Francisco Giants faced off against the New York Yankees at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
While speaking with PEOPLE at the event, Sabathia said the honor of having his Yankees number retired feels even "a little bigger" than his 2025 induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
"I feel like New York is such a tough place to play," he says. "It's so hard to get your number retired there."
Sabathia first joined the Yankees in 2009 and played for team as No. 52 until his final season in 2019.
"You can put up Hall of Fame numbers on any team, but to be able to do that in New York and have my number retired, yeah, it's gonna be a surreal feeling," Sabathia says. "I'm super excited about it and just super humbled."
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CC Sabathia throws a ceremonial first pitch before the New York Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays in game three of the American League Division Series at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 7, 2025 in New York City.Credit: Al Bello/Getty
When the Yankees retire his number this fall, Sabathia will be the 24th player or manager on the team to receive the honor, and the first since Paul O’Neill's No. 21 was retired on Aug. 21, 2022.
The honor comes after Sabathia was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Over the years, he's collected plenty of other impressive titles too, including six-time All-Star, American League Cy Young Award winner and World Series champion.
In his years since retiring from baseball, Sabathia has been enjoying family time with wife Amber and their children: sons Carsten and Carter and daughters Jaeden and Cyia.
The dad of four tells PEOPLE he enjoyed traveling with his family over Christmas break, and recently watched his oldest son play baseball at the University of Houston.
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"Most things that we do revolve around baseball because we're a baseball family, but it's just always nice to get us six together because it very, very rarely happens, having two in college and then a high school senior and a high school freshman," he says.
He adds, "but it's always fun when we're all together."
on People
Source: “AOL Sports”
