Cole shows proof of Yankees fandom
Marlins agree to minor-league deal with Kemp
NEW YORK — On his first day in pinstripes, Gerrit Cole admitted to stealing a sign — no, not those signs.
Cole affixed his signature to a record $324 million, nine-year contract at 10:45 a.m., walked into a news conference at Yankee Stadium and pulled out the crinkled placard he took to one of New York’s World Series games at Arizona in 2001. A newspaper photo from Game 6 or 7 shows the 11-year-old holding the sign reading: “Yankee Fan Today Tomorrow Forever.” Cole brought the banner to the Bronx, its letters no longer blue but now tan.
“I’d like to start with something that’s pretty special to my heart,” he said, pulling out the sign in a stroke of showmanship that would have made George Steinbrenner proud. “I’d just like to say, I’m here. I’ve always been here.”
Cole held up the sign of fealty with Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner — George’s son — and admitted he didn’t make the poster but was gifted it from other fans who had brought it to an earlier Series game. They gave it to him at the Ritz-Carlton in Phoenix, where Cole stayed with his family, along with the Yankees.
“I had it on my wall for a few years and I think that’s why it faded, and I tucked it in my closet,” Cole said. “My folks brought it down. I think after we came to terms.”
Now he’ll have a chance to pitch the Yankees to their 28th World Series title, their first since 2009.
“We need to win some world championships,” Steinbrenner said. ”Plural.”
Cole spurned the Yankees when they drafted him 28th overall in 2008, choosing to enroll at UCLA. He signed with Pittsburgh three years later after he was the No. 1 pick in the nation.
Now as a free agent, he finally was fitted for pinstripes.
His deal pays $36 million annually and while he can opt out after the fifth season, the Yankees would have two days to block the opt out by adding a 10th season at $36 million.
“It was my dream. I had a second opportunity to chase it,” Cole said. “Some people don’t quite take the word ‘no’ as well as these guys did. And I would say that it paid off, that’s for sure.”
While he grew up in southern California, Cole became a Yankees fan because his father rooted for them.
“It’s hard not to fall in love with the Yankees from like ’94 to 2002,” he said. “What a franchise of tradition and success and championships. And it kind of embodies the true American dream.”
BLUE JAYS: Tanner Roark has to keep the ball down in order to succeed, especially in the AL East.
“Popups, they go out for home runs. It is what it is,” Roark said with a laugh
Wednesday after finalizing a $24 million, two-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. “”Don’t hang a pitch or else it’s going to go far. That goes for any league, any division.”
A right-hander who turned 33 in October, Roark gets $12 million in each of the next two seasons.
He was 10-10 with a 4.35 ERA in 31 starts last season for Cincinnati and Oakland, which acquired him at the trade deadline. Roark is 74-64 with a 3.71 ERA over seven seasons, the first six with Washington.
MARLINS: Still looking for answers offensively, the Miami Marlins are hoping they’ve found a reclamation project who can help contribute in the outfield.
The Marlins have agreed to a minor league contract with former Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp. A three-time AllStar, Kemp will receive an invitation to major league spring training and have an opportunity to make the team.
The deal reunites Kemp, 35, with former manager Don Mattingly. The Marlins skipper coached Kemp for four seasons (2011-14) in Los Angeles during his previous stint as the Dodgers manager.
Making his debut in 2006, the 14-year MLB veteran was one of the best outfielders in baseball through his first six seasons. In 2011, he finished second in the National League MVP voting, hitting .324/.399/.586 (168 wRC+) with 39 home runs, 33 doubles and an 8.3 WAR.
Boston will pay a Red Sox record $13.4 million luxury tax after failing to make the playoffs and the New York Yankees finished with a $6.7 million bill, likely a fraction of what they will pay next year.
Three teams owe tax, according to end-of-year figures sent to clubs Wednesday and obtained by The Associated Press. The Chicago Cubs must pay $7.6 million following a season that ended with a September fade and no postseason berth.