Sabathia, the 19-year Major League Baseball veteran who for three months in 2008 carried the Milwaukee Brewers to the playoffs for the first time in 26 years on his left shoulder, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame with a vote of 86.6% Tuesday night on his first time on the ballot.

Welcome to the Hall of Fame, Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner. It's a remarkable achievement to survive the gauntlet of baseball writers to get elected to Cooperstown: After all, the Baseball Hall of Fame remains the toughest to gain entry to, especially via the BBWAA path of election.