With Their Season on the Line, the Yankees Go to Their Go-to Guy
The New York Times
Gerrit Cole is known by his teammates as a student of the game. In a do-or-die game against Boston, the Yankees hope their $324 million ace has studied carefully.
On Sept. 19, as the Yankees were making a push for a wild-card spot in the postseason, they lost by 11-1 to Cleveland in a game in which their ace, Gerrit Cole, allowed seven runs. Walking into the clubhouse after the final out, reliever Michael King spotted Cole sitting in the locker of catcher Kyle Higashioka and doing something that fit his meticulous nature.
“He was going over every single pitch that he just threw,” King said of Cole, who fired 104 of them that day. “He was like, ‘Was this the wrong pitch?’”
On Tuesday night, the Yankees will pin their postseason hopes on Cole, the star right-handed pitcher whom they signed to a nine-year, $324 million contract before the 2020 season for moments like this. It is not just a win-or-go-home American League wild-card game, and it is not just against their rivals, the Boston Red Sox. It is also in Fenway Park.
