Yankees Legend CC Sabathia Talks Car Trouble After Viral Photo Before HOF Induction

New York Yankees icon CC Sabathia discussed the car troubles that delayed his journey to Cooperstown, New York for his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

“It was an adventure,” Sabathia said, per Tyler Kepner of The Athletic. “For my family, whenever it’s six of us traveling somewhere together, something’s always going to go wrong. We have a group chat that’s called ‘Strong as a Unit,’ because when we’re all together, no matter what happens, we know we can get through it.

“But it’s one of those weird things where my wife has a brand new Escalade, we drive it up here, we stop to get food, everything’s going great. And then we try to get on the on-ramp on 17 – and her car stopped. And most of the time when we’re driving, I’m gone. I never drive behind her. But for some reason the other day, I was just I was taking my time and (I was) right behind her."

While the car was stopped, Sabathia posted a picture of himself along with his family on social media while jokingly asking for a lift.

“It was pretty funny because I’m taking pictures, my kids are going on TikTok, and Amber’s in the back like the super-serious person that she is, getting everything done," Sabathia explained. "People were honking at us and recognizing us on the side of the road. So for us it was fun, for her it was a nightmare.”

The former star pitcher revealed that the car stopped roughly 45 minutes away from his home in New Jersey, so he drove his family back to the house in his car and they ended up taking a truck to Cooperstown instead (via Kepner).

Sabathia was announced as a member of the Hall of Fame's class of 2025 at the beginning of the year, joining Billy Wagner, Dave Parker, Dick Allen and Ichiro Suzuki.

The 45-year-old spent his 19-year MLB career with the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers and Yankees. Sabathia earned six All-Star nods and the 2007 American League Cy Young Award, winning a World Series title with New York in 2009.

His 3,093 career strikeouts rank No. 18 on MLB's all-time leaderboard.

Sabathia was able to work around car troubles and arrive in time for his Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which will take place on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. ET.