1 FOR THE MONEY
Tonight’s when Cole really starts earning that paycheck
CLEVELAND — This is what he came for. The Yankees went out last winter to woo Gerrit Cole and his wife with an elaborate presentation and then handed the righthander the largest contract ever given to a pitcher, just for this reason. While it has been an inconsistent year for the Yankees and their new ace, nothing about the 2020 regular season will be remembered really.
What Cole does now, in the playoffs, will begin to define his legacy as a Yankee.
So, Monday, before taking the ball for the team whose uniform he dreamed of wearing as a boy, Cole was … relieved. It wasn’t the stress of playing baseball in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic or being in a playoff bubble.
Nope, Cole just likes the fresh start. “It’s always kind of a feeling of like, ‘ah, finally, it’s arrived,’ regardless if it’s 60 games or 162 games,”
Cole said of getting to the postseason. “So, yeah, it’s just good to be here.”
Cole will take the ball in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series tonight against Cleveland at Progressive Field after an inconsistent season. In 12 starts, Cole pitched to a 2.84 ERA, striking out 94 and walking 17 in 73 innings pitched. His FIP, fielding independent pitching, of 3.89 suggests he may have gotten a little lucky this year and there were other numbers that raised eyebrows.
Cole got hit hard this season. He tied Tigers starter Matthew Boyd for the most home runs allowed (14) this season. He had the highest barrel percentage of his career (9.1%) and the highest hard-hit percentage (42.9%) of his career.
Cole overcame two bad starts this season to finish with three strong ones (an 0.86 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched). He will be facing off against the American League pitcher who has oneupped him this season. Last year, Cole set a record with a 39.9% strikeout rate and this year Shane Bieber broke that with a 41.1%.
The Cleveland right-hander won the Triple Crown, leading the majors in ERA (1.63) and strikeouts (122) this season. He tied for the lead in wins with eight.
It’s the marquee matchup that all of baseball is interested in seeing.
“It’s the best pitching matchup in the postseason that will only happen once,” one MLB exec said. “It’s last season’s best starter vs this season’s. Both have multiple ways to get hitters out, both beat & miss barrels and thus both are afforded taking on a lineup for a 3rd time without hesitation.
“Both have the ability to and have the expectations to impact any postseason series. This is what the Yankees brought Cole in to do, be a postseason season ace.”
Last season, Cole stood in the Yankees’ way, beating them in Game 3 of the AL Championship Series when he was with the Astros. That completed the first decade in nearly a century where the Bombers did not win a World Series. The reaction and outcry sparked some action in the winter.
Despite the fact that it was the Yankees’ bats that really let them down in that series, the Bombers decided that if they couldn’t beat him, they’d take him. The top free agent on the market last winter, the Yankees put on an elaborate presentation for Cole and his wife, Amy. They brought him an expensive bottle of wine and then handed him the biggest deal given to a pitcher.
They did all that to be able to hand him the ball in situations like this.
“He’s ready to go. He knows what he wants to do. He’ll know how he wants to attack and I am excited to give him the ball (tonight),” Aaron Boone said.
Cole downplayed the pressure that his deal and wearing the most famous uniform in baseball could put on him.
“I guess I just look at it as, it is what it is. And whether I was getting paid what I’m getting paid or playing for the team that I was playing for now, I keep the same approach every time I go out there,” Cole said. “I just go out and try to do my job.”
Cole is 6-4 in the postseason with a 2.60 career playoff ERA over 10 starts. He’s allowed 19 earned runs, nine home runs and struck out 78 over 63 innings pitched. “The stakes,” Cole said when asked what he likes about taking the ball in these kinds of big games. “I enjoy them.” At stake tonight is not just how Cole’s 2020 season will be remembered. This will set the tone for his legacy.