CC Sabathia and his family have a bumpy ride to Cooperstown

COOPERSTOWN, NY (AP) — For CC Sabathia, getting elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame was much easier than actually getting to the Hall of Fame.

Sabathia, whose career spanned 19 seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees, was voted in on his first year of eligibility.

Getting to Cooperstown for Hall of Fame weekend activities to be capped by his induction Sunday proved a tad more difficult.

“It was an adventure,” Sabathia said Saturday.

Sabathia, wife Amber and their four children left their Alpine, New Jersey, home at about 4 p.m. Thursday. They traveled in two vehicles as is their family custom and were about 75 miles (120 kilometers) into their 177-mile trip when things got interesting.

“We stopped to get food. Everything’s going great,” Sabathia said. “We tried to get on the on-ramp on (Route) 17 and the car just stopped. I was behind her (Amber). Most of the time when we’re driving, I’m gone. I’m never driving behind her, but for some reason I was taking my time riding behind her.”

Sabathia had a clear view of what was happening. They called for assistance. The family piled into Sabathia’s car and returned home to grab another vehicle as a tow truck towed their broken-down Escalade back to Alpine.

The Sabathias arrived in Cooperstown at about midnight. What should have been a drive of about three hours became an eight-hour journey.

“It was pretty funny. I was taking pictures. My kids were doing TikToks and Amber was in the back like the super serious person she is getting everything done,” Sabathia said. “People were honking at us and recognizing us on the side of the road. It was fun for us.

“For her it was a nightmare.”

The Sabathias, including Amber, will certainly be all smiles Sunday.

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