Brewers' 2008 playoff hero on track for rightful induction into Cooperstown

When the Milwaukee Brewers traded for CC Sabathia back in 2008, it was during a pivotal time for the franchise. They had not made the playoffs in 26 years and were on the fringes of contention that season, so they pulled out the stops to make sure they were the ones to land him by sending Matt LaPorta (a big deal at the time), Michael Brantley (as the player to be named later), Zack Jackson, and Rob Bryson to Cleveland to consummate the deal.

What would unfold after the trade would go down in Brewers' lore as one of the most dominant performances in Brewers history as Sabathia put Milwaukee completely on his back. In his 17 starts after the trade including a number on short rest, Sabathia threw seven complete games while posting an unbelievable 1.65 ERA in 130.2 innings of work including a four-hitter that finally punched the Brewers' ticket to the postseason.

Sabathia's time with Milwaukee proved to be short as he signed with the Yankees that made him the highest paid pitcher in baseball at the time. He would play another 11 seasons before calling it a career and now, as the results of Hall of Fame voting as set to be announced Tuesday evening, Sabathia is well on his way to induction into Cooperstown.

CC Sabathia's impending induction into Cooperstown should have Brewers fans nostalgic

According to the amazing and thorough Hall of Fame vote tracker put together by Ryan Thibodaux and his team, Sabathia currently sits at 92.6% on the 192 public ballots that have been revealed as of the writing of this article. Theoretically, Sabathia could fail to get in if he appears on less than roughly 56% of the ballots that haven't been made public, but that feels extremely unlikely. His percentage will certainly go down because the private voters are very stingy, but he should still exceed the 75% needed on all ballots for induction into Cooperstown.

Sabathia's case for induction into the Hall of Fame is pretty self-explanatory as he is a callback to the workhorse starters of years past. Through most of his career, Sabathia was a near lock to throw 200+ innings a season while posting a career 3.74 ERA, 3.78 FIP, and 62.3 rWAR across 19 seasons. He eclipsed 3,000 strikeouts and, importantly for some, was among the best pitchers in the game at his peak including winning the Cy Young in 2007. Whether you are a traditional fan of counting stats or prefer a deeper analytical case, Sabathia has something for everybody.

For Brewers fans, this Hall of Fame ballot doesn't have much to celebrate this year. However, it does have a fun callback to a time when the Brewers finally got the playoff monkey of their backs thanks in large part to Sabathia's efforts. A Brewers cap will not adorn Sabathia's plaque in Cooperstown, but his short tenure with the team definitely added to his extensive Hall of Fame resume.

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