Cole’s maturity pays off on mound
Pirates pitcher evolves into one of baseball’s best
Leading the major leagues with 13 wins at the All- Star break is pretty special.
However, it is not the most special thing about Gerrit Cole’s season to this point.
“It’s just the maturation on his part, the focus of how he has to want to be the best,” Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “When you combine his talent with his drive, you have a pretty special package. The results take care of themselves.”
Cole has played a large part in the Pirates compiling the thirdbest record in the major leagues at 53-35. The 24-year-old righthander is 13-3 with 2.30 ERA in 18 starts while allowing 103 hits in 1171⁄3 innings with 116 strikeouts and 28 walks.
Cole participated in his first All-Star Game on Tuesday at Great American Ball Park.
“He takes ownership of the game,” Pirates catcher Chris Stewart said. “He does everything he possibly can to put the team in position to win. It’s what makes a pitcher special, especially someone who is still young like Gerrit.”
Cole is in his second full season after making his major league debut in June 2013. Like any young pitcher, Cole has had to negotiate a learning curve in the big leagues, but he has made major strides this season.
While he possesses the type of raw ability that enticed the Pirates to select him with the first overall pick in the 2011 amateur draft after a standout career at UCLA — two picks ahead of teammate Trevor Bauer, who now pitches for the Cleveland Indians — the quality of Cole’s pitches has noticeably improved this year.
One hitter who has taken notice is San Francisco Giants AllStar shortstop Brandon Crawford, who was a teammate of Cole at UCLA.
“Before, he threw the fastball 97-98 mph and it didn’t have a lot of movement,” Crawford. “He had to dial it down to 93-94 before he got movement. Now the fastball really moves, and it’s tough to square up a 98-mph fastball when it is moving the way Gerrit’s does.”
Cole throws two kinds of fastballs, a four-seamer and a sinking two-seamer, along with a slider, curveball and changeup, and he is willing to mix them up.
However, what might be more impressive about Cole’s season is the maturation he has shown on the mound.
Cole is fiery competitor, and sometimes that fire got out of control. He is also such a perfectionist that he would stomp around the mound nearly every time he gave up a hit.
However, Cole has learned to relax more this year and understand that his natural ability will eventually carry the day in most starts.
Examples of that maturity came in his last two outings before the All-Star break.
Cole gave up three runs in the first three innings to the Indians on July 5 as the Pirates fell behind 3-0. Instead of getting flustered, Cole settled down and retired his last 16 batters while Pittsburgh rallied for a 5-3 victory.
Last Friday, the St. Louis Cardinals jumped in front 2-0 on Cole and continually fouled out tough pitches to keep plate appearances alive. Cole needed to throw 114 pitches over seven innings and managed three strike- outs, yet he shut the Cardinals out over his final five innings and the Pirates again rallied for a 5-2 win.
To his credit, Cole has long been aware of his maturity issues. It is why he bypassed professional baseball after being the New York Yankees’ first-round draft pick in 2008 following his senior year of high school in Orange, Calif., to go to college.
Now, Cole is learning how to keep from putting so much pressure on myself.
“We have a great team, and I realize I’m one of 25 guys,” he said. “We have great catchers who helped me every step of the way. I’ve got guys behind me that make plays all over the place to turn hits into outs. I have great teammates; I play for a great manager and a great coaching staff.
“I don’t need to try to do everything myself. Nobody on this team does. We’re all in the together. We’re all pulling together here to help each other, and that gives you a great feeling when you step on the mound.”
Cole helped the Pirates reach the National League wild-card game in each of the last two seasons by going 21-12 with a 3.45 ERA in 41 starts.
Hurdle thought so highly of Cole as a rookie that he tabbed him to start the winner-take-all Game 5 of the 2013 NL Division Series against the Cardinals over veteran A.J. Burnett, who also would have been pitching on reg- ular rest.
“You don’t have to watch him pitch for very long to see he’s a special talent,” Indians manager Terry Francona said.
“He’s got great stuff, but what really impressed me was how he found another gear against us once he got a lead. You see that more in veteran pitchers. Once he smelled blood, it was pretty much over.”
Perhaps no one can appreciate how good a pitcher is than a fellow pitcher. Poor Indians rookie right-hander Cody Anderson got to take his first major league atbat against Cole after last hitting in 2009.
“His stuff is nasty, absolutely nasty,” Anderson said. “I see why guys have so much trouble hitting him. It was really impressive to stand in the batter’s box and see it up close.”
Being one of the best pitchers in baseball has been Cole’s goal since he was a youngster. Now that he has reached the pinnacle, he doesn’t thrive on the attention but is flattered by it.
“It’s nice that people recognize what you do and think highly of you. I think everybody wants that,” Cole said.
“I don’t want to sound dismissive, though, but all that is secondary to being part of a team and helping us win. That’s really what it comes down to. It’s a team sport. And if you do well, then everyone will be recognized for it, and playing on a team like we have makes it fun.”