Key Rookie Cards of Hall of Famer CC Sabathia

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CC Sabathia entered legendary status over the weekend, enshrined in Cooperstown along with legends Ichiro Suzuki, Billy Wagner, Dave Parker, and Dick Allen. Sabathia went in as a Yankee, the first since Derek Jeter in 2020.
In this article, we'll look at the prices and population of the rookie cards of the six-time All-Star, Cy Young Award winner, ALCS MVP, and now Hall of Famer.
RELATED: 3 Iconic Billy Wagner Rookie Cards As He Enters Cooperstown
Welcome to baseball immortality, @CC_Sabathia. pic.twitter.com/XY7WrIFkvj
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) July 27, 2025
Collectors have six CC Sabathia rookie cards to choose from. They all show him in a Cleveland Indians uniform, the team for which he played the first eight seasons of his career and won a Cy Young Award in 2007.
Perhaps the most well-known rookie card is from 1999 Bowman Chrome. It is Sabathia’s most-graded card, according to GemRate, and there are 614 PSA 10s. PSA 10 Gem Mints sell for $225-$275 on eBay.

Sabathia’s second-most graded card comes from 1999 Topps Traded - there are 522 PSA 10 Gem Mints. Sabathia PSA 10s from Topps Traded sell for $100 - $110 on eBay.

His card from Topps Chrome Traded is his third-most graded PSA card. It has fewer PSA 10s, with only 123 of the Chrome version in Gem Mint grade. The rarer Chrome versions had three sales of $215 - $235 on eBay in the past two weeks.

Sabathia’s other rookie cards are in 1999 Finest, 1999 Bowman’s Best, and 1999 Bowman.
Interestingly, despite having the lowest population of Gem Mint PSA 10s (pop. 111), Sabathia's 1999 Bowman rookie card is the least expensive PSA 10 in the market. According to GemRate, the most recent sale was for $95 on eBay. It speaks to the appeal of the Chrome line to collectors.

Whether you're a Yankees or Indians (Guardians) fan, a Sabathia fan, or a Hall of Fame rookie card collector, there are is array of choices and price points for CC Sabathia.


Horacio is an avid sports card collector and writes about trending card auctions and news across several major hobby sites, including Sports Collectors Daily and Collectibles on SI.
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