For a pair of former New York baseball southpaws, their journeys to the National Baseball Hall of Fame came to a close on Sunday. New York Yankees left-hander C.C. Sabathia was enshrined after making it on his first ballot, and former New York Mets closer Billy Wagner ended his 10-year wait to earn his call to Cooperstown.
Both pitchers led historic careers in their respective roles. Sabathia posted a 251-161 record with a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts in 561 games, starting all but one of those contests, between the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers and Yankees. He helped New York to a World Series title in 2009, winning ALCS MVP honors in his first year in pinstripes, going along with six All-Star Games and a Cy Young Award.
In 11 years with the Yankees, he posted a 134-88 record, 3.81 ERA and 1,700 strikeouts in 307 games.
Wagner is the first left-handed reliever to make the Hall of Fame, leading southpaws in save with 422. In 853 appearances, he boasts a 2.31 ERA and 1,196 strikeouts. In 183 games with the Mets, he posted 101 saves to go with a 2.37 ERA and 230 strikeouts.
His booming fastball helped him to seven All-Star appearances and a Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the Year Award in 1999. Wagner earned his spot in his final year of eligibility for induction.
“You go through fifteen years of criticism to get to this point, there’s not much you can do,” Wagner said. “Just the journey and the struggle to get to this point, enjoy and I think the gamut of emotions that you go through when you’re when you’re going through this.”
Sabathia said getting to interact with Wagner in the months since the results were announced was an enjoyable experience. “We’re teammates in this now,” he said.
“It’s been a lot of fun the last six months to be able to get to know each other, talk baseball. I think that’s the biggest thing that me and him have kind of bonded over is being able to just talk the game, you know, top to bottom.”
However, what makes their nominations unique is that they join a small yet mighty group of left-handed pitchers to reach baseball’s most exclusive group. Wagner and Sabathia bring the total number of southpaws in Cooperstown up to 20.
Sabathia is the 19th left-handed starter to make it, being one of only four lefties to record 3,000 strikeouts in his career.
“A left handed pitcher has definitely an advantage of staying in the big leagues because they’re in a minority,” said 1991 Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins when discussing Sabathia’s success. “I just think that a left-hander, you’re in demand more than a right-hander, but he was an outstanding pitcher.”
Wagner, who went in with a Houston Astros cap on his plaque, joins teammates Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell in Cooperstown. Biggio called Wagner a huge part of the team’s success in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.
“He was amazing, man,” Biggio said. “We had a lot of success in the nineties, and I don’t think you have a lot of success without a dominant closer and for nine years, he was the man.”
Both Sabathia and Wagner will go down as the top pitchers of their respective eras. However, they’re each historic from the standpoint that they’ll join a rare group of left-handers in Cooperstown for their historic careers.
