


For trick-or-treaters, Alpine, N.J., is the land of plenty.
There’s the house that hands out $10 gift cards and the one that gives every child an entire unopened bag of miniature candy bars. There’s the family that slings hot dogs and popcorn and the one that hires actors for the day to putter around the yard dressed like zombies.
But even amid this sea of well-to-do revelry, one retired New York Yankee’s house is the marquee stop.
Reggie Jackson may be Mr. October. But to the trick-or-treaters of northern New Jersey, C. C. Sabathia is Mr. October 31st.
“C. C.’s house is the pinnacle,” said Sheldon Neal, a father of two from nearby Paramus. “Just an amazing dedication to his craft.”
That craft was once left-handed pitching, at which Mr. Sabathia excelled for 19 seasons, 11 of them with the Yankees. His résumé has placed him at the doorstep of baseball’s Hall of Fame.
But since retiring in 2019, Mr. Sabathia has traded in his pinstripes for a series of increasingly elaborate Halloween costumes, often punctuated with Hollywood-grade makeup and prosthetics, and movie-set-style decorations to match.