Yankees retire CC Sabathia's No. 52, give him plaque in Monument Park

There probably is no sports organization that can match the Yankees when it comes to tradition, history and success. They have a list of all-time greats unlike any other with names such as Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle and Ford. And now CC Sabathia stands with them.

The Yankees unveiled his Monument Park plaque and retired his No. 52 in a ceremony filled with pomp and tributes and attended by former teammates Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Dellin Betances and Chris Young before the doubleheader against the Orioles on Friday at the Stadium.

Twenty-three numbers have been retired by the Yankees.

Sabathia said, “This feels bigger to me than the Hall of Fame because I know what was at stake when I came here.”

He added, “That ceremony was incredible, surreal. I have so many famous teammates — whether it's Mo [Mariano Rivera], Derek [Jeter], Andy [Pettitte] — so I've been at that ceremony a bunch of times. But to have that ceremony be for me is special and to have my family out there was cool. . . . I never envisioned myself going into Monument Park, and I think that was the reason why I was so scared to come here: because you don't ever think that you're ever going to win the Yankee fans over or the city over.”

Sabathia met with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman  at the winter meetings after the 2008 season and was hesitant to sign.  “I watched so many guys come here and fail,'' he said, "so I think I was just scared of the of the challenge to come here and see if I could pitch.”

But after the meetings concluded, Cashman visited him and his wife, Amber, at their home and convinced him.

Sabathia said, “[He] was like, ‘I've waited three years. There were other guys that I could have signed that I didn't sign because I was targeting you to come here. I know you can change my clubhouse. I know you can change the structure of the way this team is.’ And once he said that, Amber looked at me [and] she was like . . . . 'The Yankees want you to come there. He's telling you he wants you there. Let's go and see.’ ”

Sabathia led the AL in victories with 19 that season and then started five postseason games — going 4-0 — as the Yankees won the 2009 World Series. In his 11 seasons with the club, he had a 134-88 record with a 3.81 ERA and 1,700 strikeouts in 1,918 innings.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was a teammate of Sabathia's in Cleveland and called him “one of my all-time favorite teammates and just someone that I have a ton of respect for.”

“Obviously a Hall of Fame pitcher, and that's a huge part of his legacy,” Boone said. “But I think everyone that ever got to play with him felt a brother, a friend, an unbelievable teammate that was incredibly approachable, really easy to be around, and kind of a warrior.”

A first-ballot Hall of Famer enshrined in 2025, Sabathia finished a 19-year career with a 251-161 record, a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts in 3,577 1/3 innings.  He became the third lefthanded pitcher in MLB history to reach 250 wins and 3,000 strikeouts, joining Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson.

He said, “It's surreal to think that I'll come here now — and I come here a lot — just to look up there and see my number out there.”