CC Sabathia was born in Vallejo, California, in 1980. Cleveland selected him in the 1998 baseball draft, and he reached the major leagues in 2001. His career extended across nineteen major-league seasons. In 2007, he received the American League Cy Young Award for his work with Cleveland. Major League Baseball identifies Sabathia as an African American pitcher in its account of the game’s Black Aces.
A midseason trade sent him to Milwaukee in 2008. He joined the New York Yankees the following year and helped them win the 2009 World Series, earning Most Valuable Player honors in that season’s American League Championship Series. By the time he retired after 2019, his career included 251 wins and 3,093 strikeouts.
The PitCCh In Foundation began during his playing career. Its account dates the founding to 2008, with an initial event in Cleveland and nonprofit recognition in 2010. CC and Amber Sabathia established it together, and his mother, Margie Sabathia-Lanier, played a key role in its launch. The foundation identifies baseball clinics, backpacks and field renovations as its signature programs. Its team page lists Amber as executive director and includes a communications director and a board, with tax filings and financial statements available on its website.
The program descriptions offer concrete examples. The foundation reports renovating baseball fields and providing ongoing maintenance. Clinics for children ages five through twelve involve current and former professional players, local coaches and guest speakers. A backpack program supplies school materials in Vallejo and the Bronx, connecting support for education with the two communities at the center of the Sabathias’ work.
In 2011, the organization established the Nathan Berhel Scholarship at Vallejo High School to support student-athletes heading toward college.
Sabathia entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2025.
