CC Sabathia and his family have a bumpy ride to Cooperstown
Sabathia, whose career spanned 19 seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees, was voted in on his first year of eligibility.
Getting to Cooperstown for Hall of Fame weekend activities to be capped by his induction Sunday proved a tad more difficult.
"It was an adventure," Sabathia said Saturday.
Sabathia, wife Amber and their four children left their Alpine, New Jersey, home at about 4 p.m. Thursday. They traveled in two vehicles as is their family custom and were about 75 miles (120 kilometers) into their 177-mile trip when things got interesting.
"We stopped to get food. Everything's going great," Sabathia said. "We tried to get on the on-ramp on (Route) 17 and the car just stopped. I was behind her (Amber). Most of the time when we're driving, I'm gone. I'm never driving behind her, but for some reason I was taking my time riding behind her."
Sabathia had a clear view of what was happening. They called for assistance. The family piled into Sabathia's car and returned home to grab another vehicle as a tow truck towed their broken-down Escalade back to Alpine.
The Sabathias arrived in Cooperstown at about midnight. What should have been a drive of about three hours became an eight-hour journey.
"It was pretty funny. I was taking pictures. My kids were doing TikToks and Amber was in the back like the super serious person she is getting everything done," Sabathia said. "People were honking at us and recognizing us on the side of the road. It was fun for us.
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He had the fastball clocked at 91 to 97 mph, the slider at 82 to 87, and the changeup at 81 to 86. Even though Los Angeles won 5-3, it was the best outing of Scherzer's season, the first double-digit strikeout contest of his career. And it did not affect his confidence. 'You walk into this clubhouse, either you're confident or you're not,' Scherzer said in Detroit. 'Yes or no. I'm not going to let the results determine whether that changes on or off. From Day 1, it's always been the exact same.' On a recent day at Great American Ball Park, Kershaw walked into left field, carrying a bucket of baseballs. The grounds crew had not yet set up the cage for batting practice. No other player was on the field. Dressed in workout shorts and a muscle T-shirt, Kershaw played catch with his oldest son, Charley. Then he threw batting practice, Charley swinging an aluminum bat and taking aim at the left-field fence not far away. Ping. 'Get out of here!' Thump. Off the wall. Kershaw and Scherzer are a long way from their rookie showdown. In their 18th seasons, they are aging pitchers on one-year contracts, trying to help their respective first-place teams win a championship. Kershaw this season is coming off toe and knee surgeries. Scherzer has battled thumb issues. Their careers are remarkably similar. Aside from the Cy Young Awards, Scherzer has 218 wins, Kershaw 217. Both have topped 3,000 strikeouts. Scherzer has led the league in strikeouts three times, Kershaw has five ERA titles. Both are World Series champs. They even spent half a season together in 2021, Scherzer, then with the Washington Nationals, getting dealt to the Dodgers before the trade deadline. 'The thing that people don't really see is just the battling back from injuries, not only physically, but the mental part,' said Haren, who also teamed with Kershaw for a season in Los Angeles. 'All the setbacks and issues, the bad backs, the shoulders, the hip, everything. It takes an absolute toll on you mentally, too. … They're guys, if you played with them, against them, when they're pitching, you're on the top step watching.' Advertisement The intensity may not rage as it once did, but it's still there. In Detroit, Toronto southpaw Eric Lauer showed up for a postgame interview with a fat lip, explaining, jokingly, that he broke the cardinal rule of messing with Scherzer on a day Scherzer was scheduled to pitch. In Cincinnati, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Kershaw still works and prepares as always, but 'like most things, there's been an adjustment period' as he's aged. That's normal. 'There's a difference between being thankful and being satisfied,' said Kershaw, who's 5-2 with a 3.29 ERA this season. 'I'm super thankful for everything this game has given me. I don't think that's really ever changed, but there's a fine line you walk between being grateful and appreciative and being content. You got to keep getting better because everybody else is. You just got to keep going. I try to walk that line. Sometimes it doesn't always work, but I try the best I can.' On the day Scherzer made his seventh start of the season, one in which he pitched seven innings and struck out 11, the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted its 2025 class. Asked if he ever allowed himself to think about his day in Cooperstown, the veteran ace stayed firmly in the present. 'I'm not here for my personal accomplishments,' said Scherzer, 2-1 with a 4.39 ERA this season. 'I throw all that out the window. I'm here to win the World Series. There's nothing else. I just want to be one of the guys. Having fun with everybody, competing with everybody, trying to win ball games. And just soak it all in.' Kershaw agreed. He said when he thinks of Cooperstown, the first thing that pops to mind is the Cooperstown All-Star Village, a popular U-12 national baseball tournament. Maybe one day one of his boys will want to play in it, Kershaw said. That's as far as he allows himself to go. Kershaw has never even visited the Hall of Fame, which inducted Maddux in 2014 and Johnson in 2015, the first step of completing the unique story from 2008. Kershaw's excited to check it out. 'Hopefully, some day,' he said. (Top illustration: Kelsea Petersen / The Athletic; photos: Justine Willard / Getty Images, Rob Leiter / Getty Images)
