SIGNS POINT TO TITLES!
Gerrit laughs off ‘fake sign’ rumors
It was real. Gerrit Cole had a surprise at his introductory press conference at Yankee Stadium Wednesday. The Bombers’ new ace asked his agent, Yankees managing partner Hal Steinbrenner and his wife to stand and pulled out a faded piece of cardboard that read: “Yankee Fan Today, Tomorrow, Forever.”
“I’d just like to say, I am here. I’ve always been here,” Cole said unveiling the sign that he was photographed with as an 11year-old at the 2001 World Series.
After signing a record-setting nine-year, $324 million deal with his childhood dream team, Cole had the perfect prop for the elaborate press conference. Cole explained it was not a replica, but the exact hand-made sign that he picked up 18 years ago. He then had to explain why he brought it with him to New York after some Twitter sleuths questioned the authenticity.
“It’s the same one. It’s 18 years old. I had it on my wall for a few years and I think that’s why it faded,” Cole said. “I tucked it in my closet and my folks brought it down. I think after we came to terms, at least initially when everyone else found out about it, we went to dinner and they dropped the sign off and I just decided I should probably bring it to New York.”
It was a picture that has haunted the Yankees since they tried to sign him after drafting him with their first pick in the 2008 draft. Cole chose to go to UCLA instead and ended up the No.1 overall pick of the Pirates. Eleven years later, Cole pulled out the sign to prove that even though it took a record-setting deal of $324 million over nine years, yes, it has always been a dream for him to pitch in pinstripes.
The story of the sign began with him and his father, who grew up a Yankee fan, traveling to Phoenix for the World Series and hanging out with another family in the team hotel — where he actually also met George Steinbrenner.
Cole inherited the sign from another family at the hotel.
“I actually didn’t make it. We were staying in the Ritz actually with the club at that time,” Cole explained. “There’s like a little club area where you can get yogurt parfaits or something like that. They’d actually set up a little arts and crafts area and they’d made a sign, and they brought the sign to one of the games earlier. And then they didn’t have tickets. So they left the sign with me since we were kind of all hanging out at the park,” Cole said. “I wish I could remember their names. I talked to my dad this morning to see if he can remember, but we couldn’t. I kept the sign, I love the sign.”