The last time we heard from Gerrit Cole was after Game 7 of the World Series when he reluctantly spoke to the media while wearing a Scott Boras brand baseball cap. After winning Game 5 versus the Nationals, Cole was peeved that he wasn’t used in the series finale. At that moment, Yankees fans were more hopeful than ever that their team would finally reel in Hal Steinbrenner’s “great white whale.”
And so with Steinbrenner’s mega-money blessing and some surefire negotiating skills from general manager Brian Cashman, who had help from manager Aaron Boone, pitching coach Matt Blake and Yankee great Andy Pettitte, the Bombers beat out both Los Angeles clubs for Cole’s signature.