When CC Sabathia delivers his Hall of Fame speech, one face in the crowd will be that of the man who was Sabathia’s pitching coach when he was a 17-year-old minor leaguer in the Indians’ system.

“I plan on being in Cooperstown that day,’’ Cleveland pitching coach Carl Willis said before the Yankees’ 3-2 victory over the Indians on Friday at Yankee Stadium.

Sabathia is scheduled to be activated from the injured list on Sunday and start the series finale.

“I felt he was going to be an ace and an All-Star,’’ said Willis, who became the Indians’ big league pitching coach in Sabathia’s third season (2003) and left in 2009. “At 17 or 18, obviously there is a long way to go, but he had that talent.’’

Willis is in his second season of a second stint as the Indians’ pitching coach. He replaced current Mets manager Mickey Callaway.

“It’s kind of surreal that here we are 21 years later and [Sabathia] is still pitching in the big leagues,’’ Willis said. “I enjoy seeing him pitch. I am proud that I have been part of his career, a small part.’’

The 39-year-old lefty has been on the IL with an inflamed right knee since July 28, one day after giving up five runs and nine hits in 4 ¹/₃ innings in a 9-5 Fenway Park loss. He started the season on the IL with a knee problem and didn’t debut until April 13.

In his final season, Sabathia is 5-6 with a 4.78 ERA in 17 starts and will be searching for his first win since beating the Blue Jays on June 24. He reached the 3,000 strikeout mark on April 30 and posted his 250th victory on June 19 by beating the Rays.

With 3,068 strikeouts, Sabathia is 17th on the all-time list and 14 shy of John Smoltz, who is 16th. With 251 wins, Sabathia is tied with Bob Gibson for 45th place and two back of Carl Hubbell, who is 44th. Smoltz, Gibson and Hubbell are in the Hall of Fame.

With the exception of Roger Clemens, who remains on the ballot, every pitcher with 3,000 strikeouts and 250 wins is in the Hall of Fame.