There are some who have criticized the New York Yankees‘ decision to retire CC Sabathia’s No. 52 this summer. But Sabathia himself isn’t worried about the naysayers.
Sabathia clapped back at critics, notably Phil Mushnick of the New York Post, with a post on X (formerly Twitter).
The Yankees announced last week they would retire Sabathia’s No. 52 during a ceremony prior to their penultimate regular-season game against the Baltimore Orioles on Sept. 26.
Sabathia won 134 games over his 11 seasons with the Yankees and helped them win the World Series in 2009 — he was named ALCS MVP in their six-game series win against the Los Angeles Angels that year.
CC Sabathia Clapped Back at Phil Mushnick, Critics
Sabathia is a beloved former member of the Yankees, but he did not win an individual award and only won one World Series with them.
So that led the Post’s curmudgeonly columnist to take issue with the Yankees’ putting Sabathia’s number in Monument Park — even though Sabathia was voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame this summer.
Sabathia didn’t care to hear Mushnick’s complaints.
https://x.com/CC_Sabathia/status/2028209902330450216?s=20
“Phil sorry you feel that way,” Sabathia posted. “See you 9/26/26.”
The Yankees Were Right to Retire CC Sabathia’s No. 52
Mushnick’s opinion may be easy for guys like Sabathia to dunk on, but he isn’t the only Yankees fan who took issue with putting a plaque up for Sabathia.
But a quick look under the hood reveals Sabathia’s worthiness. He was a top-four finisher in AL Cy Young voting three times in a Yankees uniform, and he was a three-time AL All-Star who also won 19-plus games three times.
Sabathia is 10th in team history in wins, ranks seventh in Yankees history in games started in a Yankees uniform (306) and five of the six pitchers ahead of him on the list have their numbers retired. Only Mel Stottlemyre (356 games) doesn’t have his number in Monument Park.
Plus, Sabathia is one of the last great ace starting pitchers in modern history, which is why he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in July. He pitched 200-plus innings five times with the Yankees and topped 230 innings in three seasons for them.
Expanded playoffs could be blamed for Sabathia making just two World Series starts in his career. But Sabathia was great for the Yankees in October too, going 8-4 with a 3.42 ERA in 21 appearances in 105 1/3 innings in the postseason.
Sabathia also had memorable moments in October, like his complete-game, nine-strikeout performance in the Yankees’ 3-1 win over the Orioles in Game 5 of the 2012 ALDS — the second of his two wins in that series.
He also gave up just two earned runs and nine hits in 16 innings while striking out 12 in two starts against the Angels in the 2009 ALCS. He went eight innings in each of his starts.
So the Yankees’ recent postseason struggles are why this era’s players may not seem as great as the past. But it’s not Sabathia’s fault the Yankees have only been to the World Series once since 2009, and that Yankees fans still revere him prove he’s worth celebrating.
Yankees Great CC Sabathia Claps Back at Criticism Over Number Retirement