cc sabathia is in my hall of famer collection

it's time to showcase another addition to my hall of famer collection. this time, i am featuring a player who is not yet inducted into the hall, but likely will be when eligible. here's the card that represents cc sabathia in my collection:

that's a 2020 topps tier one certified prime performers autograph card, numbered 10/80. here's the back:

ol' carsten charles (or as a friend of mine called him - captain cheeseburger) earned his place in my collection once he passed the 3,000 strikeout milestone. growing up, the number 3,000 was indeed a magic number to me. if a hitter had 3,000 hits or a pitcher reached 3,000 strikeouts, they were destined for cooperstown. it's the main reason that i was surprised when guys i grew up following like don sutton, gaylord perry, fergie jenkins, and phil niekro weren't elected to the hall sooner than they were. and yes, i do think that curt schilling should be in the hall of fame and it should have happened a long time ago. i also think he is a jackass.

as for sabathia, i got to see him pitch in person a few times back when he was with cleveland. the first time was the twins' home opener in 2004, which happened to be joe mauer's big league debut. sabathia allowed two hits and four walks in seven innings, striking out nine, but his bullpen blew the 4-0 lead and he wound up with no-decision. sabathia struck out the side 1-2-3 in the fifth, including mauer.

i saw him two more times in the metrodome. first later that same season on august 22, 2004. he wasn't as sharp this time, striking out only one in 5.2 innings while allowing 7 runs. the next time i saw sabathia pitch in person was on cinco de mayo in 2005. he didn't strike out any twins that night and allowed five runs in 4.1 innings. brad radke threw a 3-hit shutout to beat him.

sabathia's career total of 3,093 strikeouts puts him at 18 all-time. it is possible that he will be passed by zack greinke and/or clayton kershaw in a couple of years, but then again, they may not pitch that long. regardless, sabathia is on the right side of 3,000 and so is in my hall of famer collection.

as a reminder, you can see all the cards and members that make up my hall of famer collection here.