The Bronx makes room for its giant, CC Sabathia
In the shrine of Yankee Stadium, names are muttered like a prayer. Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle. Now another will join them. On September 26 the club will retire CC Sabathia’s No. 52 and carve his story into legendary Monument Park. A rare honor. A tiny circle. A ceremony that tells you exactly how the Bronx still feels about its left-hander colossus.
Sabathia becomes the 24th player in franchise history to have his number retired, the first since Paul O’Neill in 2022, and the fifth member of the 2009 championship group to earn that honor — alongside Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. In short: the backbone of the last dynasty, the last ring, the last bottle of champagne still fizzing in people’s heads.
CC Sabathia will be the 24th Yankee to have his number retired pic.twitter.com/9gpd8b0toI
— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) February 26, 2026
A message that smacked like a fastball
Always ready with a line, Sabathia took the news with real feeling. On X he wrote: “From the first number that hung in my locker to 52 forever hanging in Monument Park, this HOF journey has come full circle.” No theatrics. No fluff. You hear the guy who emptied the tank — every last drop of sweat, every final pitch — tired but unbowed.
One refrain pops up from everyone who’s crossed him: he always took the ball. Always. Pain, stakes, an arm that flagged — none of it stopped him. That willingness to shoulder responsibility, that taste for the fight, is exactly what New York worships. It’s what turns a top pitcher into a standing monument.
A record that demands respect
Before he became the Bronx’s icon, Sabathia left solid markers in Cleveland and Milwaukee. A complete career: 251 wins, a 3.74 ERA and a bulldozer reputation — a guy who chewed through innings the way others gulp coffee. But it was in New York that he forged his legend.
From the moment he arrived in 2009 he made things clear. A 1.98 ERA in the playoffs. ALCS MVP. A massive presence on the hill, built for October. When the lights went nuclear, Sabathia saw cleaner than most.
Across eleven seasons in pinstripes he piled up 134 wins, three All-Star nods and a spot on the Cy Young podium in 2010. He ranks fourth in Yankees history in strikeouts, seventh in starts, tenth in wins and eleventh in innings pitched. A heavy footprint. An indelible signature.
A legacy worthy of the man
Beyond the numbers, Sabathia gave the club something else: blunt, honest leadership. A locker-room presence that commanded respect without having to demand it. A way of holding the unit together, gritting teeth, showing up. Always showing up. That human side explains why Monument Park is about to add another number.
On September 26, when 52 rises and is never worn again, the Bronx won’t just cheer a pitcher. It’ll salute an era, a symbol, a man who embodied what being a Yankee meant. And somewhere in the stands you can imagine him saying, “The LegaCCy continues.”
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