Jim Ingraham: CC Sabathia was always a big deal but Cleveland should have been even bigger when he was here

Does "chubby" apply when the subject stands 6-foot-6, 300 pounds? Those were the dimensions of the 20th pick in the first round of the 1998 MLB Draft. They belonged to an 18-year-old left-handed pitcher from Vallejo, Calif. In those days, such a specimen might be more politely referred to as "husky" rather than "chubby." Carsten Charles Sabathia was both. He was chubbily husky. There was plenty of him, OK? Especially when he launched one of his major league-ready fastballs on innocent, overmatched high school fodder. "We will take him," Cleveland officials announced when the 20th pick in the first round of the 1998 draft arrived. That selection raised some eyebrows among other competing teams who were apparently much more wary than Cleveland of — shall we say — Carsten Charles' ampleness. Too bad for them. Over a quarter of a century, 251 wins, 3,093 strikeouts, 3,577 innings, six All-Star selections, 26 postseason appearances and one Cy Young Award later, Carsten Charles is in the Cooperstown waiting room. His phone hasn't rung yet, but eventually it will, because, well ... his trophy case is chubbily husky. He will, however, gladly make room for the Cooperstown plaque that seems almost certain to eventually come his way. Unfortunately, the bulk of the Big Man's hardware and decor will not have been won while toiling for the team that drafted him. That honor will, of course, go to the Yankees, who pretty much get whatever they want and keep it until they are done with it. From 2001-08, Cleveland starters Sabathia and Cliff Lee had a combined record of 176-102 and two Cy Young Awards: Sabathia in 2007, Lee in 2008. In those eight years, with two of the best pitchers in the league, Cleveland reached the postseason just two times: losing 3-2 to Seattle in the 2001 American League Division Series and 4-3 to Boston in the 2007 ALCS. Instead of reloading, Cleveland unloaded. On July 7, 2008, Cleveland traded Sabathia to Milwaukee for (please hold your applause) Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson and Matt LaPorta. There was also a player to be named later who turned out to be Michael Brantley, which salvaged what was otherwise a Sabathia giveaway. At the next year's trade deadline, on July 29, 2009, Cleveland traded Lee to Philadelphia for Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp, Jason Donald and Lou Marson. So, in depressing hindsight, Cleveland gave up two Cy Young Award winners at the peak of their careers in exchange for Brantley and Carrasco, who were still just prospects at the time. They became key players for a team that, starting in 2008, reached the playoffs just once in the next eight years. Sabathia was 27 when Cleveland traded him to Milwaukee, and Lee was 30 when Cleveland traded him to Philadelphia. It would have been nice to see how everything would have played out had the two of them remained in Cleveland as back-to-back, left-handed Cy Young Award winners on the same staff. Looking back on those years now, Cleveland had just about the best 1-2 punch of any pitching staff in the game. It was the kind of 1-2 pitching punch that teams destined for the World Series invariably seem to have. It is our loss that this team never followed through with it. From 2005-08, Cliff Lee had a 59-27 record, .686 winning percentage and 3.91 ERA. He won the Cy Young Award in 2008. Over that same span, Sabathia had a 63-38 record, .624 winning percentage and 3.25 ERA. He won the Cy Young Award in 2007. That can't happen. You cannot have the two best pitchers in the league in consecutive years and not reach the World Series. Their window was 2005-08. There should have been a World Series win in there somewhere, but it never happened. It was over almost before it started. Before Cleveland could take full advantage of having arguably the best two left-handers in the game — perhaps the two best pitchers, period — starting two out of every five games. Who wouldn't sign up for that? Sigh! However, proving that you can come home again, Sabathia has returned to the corner of Carnegie and Ontario this weekend to be enshrined — rightfully so — in the Guardians Hall of Fame. Twenty-six years after the Indians scouted him, drafted him, signed him and enjoyed him as the ace of the Cleveland staff for longer than most former aces of the Cleveland staff, the big man has returned to where it all began. His name is still scattered through the pages of the team's best-in-show record book. His 7.45 strikeouts per nine innings for Cleveland ranks seventh in franchise history. His .599 winning percentage (106-71) is ninth. Although he played more games with the Yankees than the Guardians, he will always feel like one of ours. Contact Jim Ingraham at jingraham4@gmail.com and follow him @Jim_Ingraham on X.