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COOPERSTOWN — Throughout the lead-up to his Hall of Fame induction, CC Sabathia made several references to the Black Aces, the group of black pitchers who have won 20 games in a season in the majors.
He did it again on Sunday — showing concern over the lack of black starting pitchers in the majors.
“I don’t want to be the final member of the Black Aces,” Sabathia said during his speech. “I don’t want to be the final black pitcher to be giving a Hall of Fame speech.”
It’s one of the reasons Sabathia is working with the nonprofit organization The Players Alliance and commissioner Rob Manfred in an effort to grow the game in minority communities.
He pointed to fellow inductee Dave Parker as one of the reasons he took up the sport, noting there were fewer examples of black players now.
“In the [1980s] and early ’90s, when I first started watching baseball, me and my friends played the game because we saw those guys on TV,’’ Sabathia said. “There was always someone who looked like me in a baseball uniform.”
That’s no longer the case, especially on the mound.
Sabathia pointed to having met Jim “Mudcat” Grant when he was 17.
Grant played in Cleveland and won 21 games with Minnesota in 1965.
“Mudcat explained to me what a Black Ace was and how difficult it is to stay a starting pitcher in the major leagues,’’ Sabathia said. “I feel compelled to pay it forward and keep that going.”
Sabathia had his 20-win season in 2010 and David Price was the most recent addition, in 2012.
And Sabathia remains concerned about the future, as he, Bob Gibson and Ferguson Jenkins are the only black starting pitchers in the Hall of Fame.
“When I sit here and think about it now, who’s next?” Sabathia said after his speech. “Who’s the next black starting pitcher to win 20 games? Will there be another? Will there be another guy give a Hall of Fame speech? It’s on me and my generation to find the next kid.”
