Baseball Superstar Is First African American To Win Prestigious Award Since 1985
During a national conference call Tuesday afternoon, Cleveland Indians ace C.C. Sabathia was obviously delighted to win the 2007 American League Cy Young Award. But what raised the passion in his voice was the fact that he became the first African-American in 22 years to win the award.
Just even knowing that this 27 year-old Black man from California is focused on future ballers of color makes us happy. Especially in light of the bad news of late with some of "our" athletes.
"That's big, that's awesome," he said. The last Black pitcher to win the Cy Young Award was the New York Mets' Dwight Gooden in 1985. The last Black to win the AL Cy Young Award was Oakland's Vida Blue in 1971. Just last week, Sabathia brainstormed with 35 players in New York to create ways to get more African-American youths playing baseball.
Read more>>>