CC Sabathia paved the way for the Yankees’ most recent World Series title in his first season with the team and finished in the top four in the AL Cy Young Award voting three straight years after coming to The Bronx.
But the lefty said Friday that his “welcome to the Yankees’’ moment came against the Red Sox in early August of that season, when Sabathia tossed 7 ²/₃ scoreless innings in a win at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 8.
It began an 11-start stretch for Sabathia in which the Yankees won 10 times and he pitched to a 2.16 ERA.
“I became a Yankee in that moment,’’ Sabathia said on a Zoom call Friday in advance of his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 27 in Cooperstown. “That’s the biggest moment I think I’ll take away from the [Yankees-Red Sox] rivalry, was being able to have a big game and … pitch well.”
