Taylor: CC Sabathia represented history
From Shakeia Taylor at Baseball Prospectus on October 29, 2019:
Game 4 of this year’s ALCS turned out to be the end of CC Sabathia’s baseball career. It was also the end of an era for African-American baseball fans. 251 Wins, 3,093 Strikeouts, 6x All-Star, 2007 AL Cy Young Award (the first African-American to do so in 22 years), 2009 World Series Champion. For 19 years, we got to watch CC go out on the mound in city after city and be somewhat of a unicorn—there aren’t many Black starting pitchers in the major leagues and as Black baseball fan, I felt that CC was ours. He was special.
When Sabathia made his Cleveland debut on a Sunday afternoon in April 2001, I was an 18-year-old high school student in northeast Ohio. In hindsight, what a fitting place for him to start his career; the first American League team to have a Black player on its roster.
Read the full article here: https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/54836/cc-sabathia-represented-history/
Originally published: October 29, 2019. Last Updated: October 29, 2019.