Gerrit Cole (Elsa/Getty Images)
Gerrit Cole said being an ace on the
New York Yankees’ pitching staff is MLB’s toughest role as he
prepares to start Game 1 of the team’s American League Division
Series matchup with the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday.
“I think it’s the hardest job in the
league,” Cole told Lindsey Adler of The Athletic. “I don’t think
there’s a harder place to be the ace. I think it’s the most hunted
job in the league, and I think it comes with the most weight. The
division is a f–king [gauntlet]. Above all else, I’m paid to keep us
in the game as long as I can and take the ball every single f–king
time that I can and charge straight into the fire.”
The 32-year-old California native
accepted the pressure that comes with being the Yanks’ No. 1 starter
when he signed a nine-year, $324 million contract ahead of the 2020
season.
He’s mostly lived up to expectations,
compiling a 3.28 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with 594 strikeouts in 455 innings
across 75 starts for New York.
Cole told Adler he could have signed
anywhere, joking he could have been closer to home “grilling burgers and drinking
beer and gambling on football games” rather than preparing for the
playoffs if he joined the Los Angeles Angels, but he was drawn to the
pressure of being a Yankee.
“Yeah, but like once you play here,
it’s like, who gives a shit about the rest of the league?” the
five-time All-Star said. “The level of commitment to winning here
is unchallenged across the landscape of the league.”
He added: “I like a fight, I guess.
But just because I like it tough doesn’t mean that it’s not hard.”
Every year is championship-or-bust for
the Yankees, whose 27 World Series titles are 16 more than any other
MLB franchise.
That level of expectation hasn’t
changed, even in an era where teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and
New York Mets are posting the league’s highest payrolls.
The Yankees had a 99-63 record to
win the AL East this year, but that’ll be a mere footnote if they
don’t parlay it into postseason success.
“Every game that you pitch during the
regular season is an opportunity to fine-tune your process and the
way you go about your business so that it becomes automatic in
situations like this,” Cole told Adler.
Game 1 between the Yanks and Guardians
is set for a 7:37 p.m. ET first pitch Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. Television coverage will be on TBS.
The post Gerrit Cole on Being Yankees’ Ace: ‘Hardest Job in’ MLB, AL East ‘a F–king Gauntlet’ appeared first on Tampa Daily Journal.
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