CLEVELAND — CC Sabathia has a two-part message to Cleveland fans when he reflects on his playing days.
Sabathia, 44, returned to Progressive Field Friday, one day before he'll be inducted in the team's Hall of Fame before Saturday's game against the Baltimore Orioles .
Sabathia spent parts of eight seasons as the ace of Cleveland's starting rotations , notably winning the American League Cy Young Award in 2007.
That season, 2007, is what stands out the most when Sabathia thinks about his time in Cleveland, particularly how it ended. That Cleveland team was up 3-1 in the American League Championship Series over Terry Francona and the Boston Red Sox — one win away from a trip to the World Series.
But from there, the Red Sox fought back to win the final three games of the series en route to winning the World Series over the Colorado Rockies .
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Sabathia thanked Cleveland fans for how he was treated during his time with the club. But he also wishes that '07 team could have done just a little bit more, and he put some of that burden on himself.
"Just thank you — this fan base is incredible. I would have to say sorry, too," Sabathia said. "I feel like if I had pitched better in 2007, we win a World Series, and we're still not looking at that drought. I had to do a lot of growing up and different things and took my lunch there.
"So I would say sorry, and I would say thank you."
After that narrow miss at a trip to the World Series in 2007, the 2008 season went off the rails, and Sabathia, as the reigning Cy Young Award winner, was dealt to Milwaukee at the trade deadline.
Sabathia was signed by Cleveland when he was 17. He made his debut when he was 20. Northeast Ohio had become a second home.
"I always tell people, this place is always special to me because I was born and raised in California, but I kind of grew up in Cleveland," Sabathia said. "Bought my first house here … I got married here. So many different 'firsts' as an adult happened here, and it's always near and dear to your heart."
Being traded, then, was the toughest moment of his career to that point.
"I never thought I would be a guy that got traded," Sabathia said. "I watched Manny [Ramirez] and [Jim] Thome and everything that happened, and you still don't think it's going to happen to you. I think it's always a good lesson to learn that this is a business, and getting traded to Milwaukee, it was tough. It was hard. I mean, I never cried that hard before in my life."
Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis is a key part of new manager Stephen Vogt's staff , and he has been credited with helping countless pitchers. That list includes Sabathia.
Willis and Sabathia worked together throughout their careers at different points. And without those interactions, it's possible Sabathia wouldn't be where he was Friday, returning to Cleveland and on the cusp of being inducted into the team's Hall of Fame (and possibly the National Baseball Hall of Fame next year).
"Yeah, I saw a picture the other day of me and Carl during my very first bullpen, and I just remember during that bullpen, he goes, 'All right, lemme see what you got,'" Sabathia said. "He goes, 'Four-seamer, two-seamer?' And I was like, 'I don't know what you're talking about. I grip the ball right here and this is how I throw it.' He literally taught me how to throw a four-seamer. He taught me how to throw a change-up."
"Without Carl and just him being a father figure every step of the way, there's no way I'm sitting here."
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Threads at @ByRyanLewis .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: CC Sabathia named to Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame
