NEW YORK -- Gerrit Cole brought along a sign for the news conference to announce his signing with the New York Yankees: a crinkled board that read "Yankee Fan Today Tomorrow Forever."
Then 11, Cole was caught on camera holding up that message in the seats at Game 6 of the 2001 World Series in Phoenix. The lettering of the tape he used has faded from blue to tan in the years since.
He 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 selected first overall.