CC Sabathia has hurled his way into elite company.
The New York Yankees starting pitcher struck out the 3000th batter of his career Tuesday night at Chase Field during his team’s loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He did so in the second inning when he fanned Arizona’s John Ryan Murphy, with the crowd and both sets of players keen on soaking up the historic moment.
Sabathia became the 17th pitcher in MLB history to strike out 3000 batters and he also is just the third left-hander to do so, joining Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton on that ultra-exclusive list.
Sabathia’s journey into baseball immortality began April 8, 2001 with his strikeout of Baltimore Orioles left fielder Mike Kinkade and it continued through Tuesday night’s game, during which he struck out five batters to bring his career total to 3,002.
Although Sabathia, 38, is bound for the Baseball Hall of Fame, he wasn’t interested in reflecting on his MLB legacy after the Yankees’ 3-1 loss to the Diamondbacks.
“Maybe that’s something I’ll think about after the season, but right now, the focus is on trying to win games and trying to win this division,” Sabathia told MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez. “Like I said earlier, it’s not up to me to say my place in history. That’s up to everybody else. I just go out and play as hard as I can and leave my numbers out there. Hopefully, one day they will be good enough to get in.”
Sabathia need not worry, as 3,000 strikeouts is more than enough to warrant a place in Cooperstown, NY.
