Former Cleveland ace CC Sabathia receives Lifetime Achievement Award
The big lefty known to have a big heart came home Wednesday night. Or, at least, he returned to his home away from home.
Former Cleveland ace CC Sabathia was given the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards, held Wednesday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The award is in recognition of what he's done through charity work off the field.
Sabathia and his wife Amber founded the PitCCh Foundation, a non-profit organization that "aims to enrich the lives of inner-city youth by raising their self-esteem through educational and athletic activities," as stated on the official website. PitCCh was created in 2008, just before Sabathia was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers after a stint in Cleveland that spanned eight seasons and included winning the 2007 American League Cy Young Award. The foundation focuses on All-Star camps, a school backpack program and baseball field renovations.
The eight seasons Sabathia spent in Cleveland, along with the reception he received whenever he returned as a visiting player, made the city feel like a second home.
"It's great to be back here," Sabathia said Wednesday night, after being given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission. "Any time I get a chance to come back, it feels like home, having a chance to come back with my mom, my wife, my godmom is here. We spent a lot of time here and they did too so to be able to come back here and get an award, it feels great."
Cleveland Guardians Charities have also partnered with PitCCh In and Get In The Game, a social equity initiative formed by Wake Forest baseball coach Tom Walter, to pilot a school program at Cleveland Metropolitan School District's Garrett Morgan High School. The initiative's mission is to "enhance cross-racial communication for students aged 13-24 by creating programs which incorporate peer-to-peer learning, group activities, and multimedia tools to enable young students to engage in important conversations about racial equity."
Sabathia also returned to the Cleveland area last year when the Guardians organization dedicated a baseball field at Luke Easter Park in his name.
"That love is reciprocated because I love the organization and loved my time here as well," Sabathia said. "So it just feels good to have that mutual feeling in retirement."
The Lifetime Achievement Award is "given to a person who has dedicated their lives to the advancement of sports in Cleveland," as stated in a release. Sabathia is the eighth person connected to Cleveland baseball to receive the award, joining Bob Feller (2004), Richard Jacobs (2005), Herb Score (2006), Tom Hamilton (2014), Mike Hargrove (2016), Sandy Alomar Jr. (2018) and the Dolan Family (2019).
Sabathia won the Cy Young Award in 2007, when he went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA and 209 strikeouts in 241 innings. He posted a combined 106-71 record with a 3.83 ERA with Cleveland.
He was dealt to the Brewers at the trade deadline in 2008. Sabathia was told of the trade while on the plane traveling between cities and became emotional.
"Oh yeah. I remember crying all that — we were playing a day game in Minnesota on a Sunday, and I remember flying home," Sabathia said. "The first person to come back and tell me I was traded was [current director of team travel Mike Seghi]. I remember crying like a baby."
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Guardians at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/cleveland-guardians. Follow him on Twitter at @ByRyanLewis.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Former Cleveland ace CC Sabathia receives Lifetime Achievement Award
