The Yankees officially have their ace — and he’s clean-shaven.
Gerrit Cole, who followed the Yankee Way by getting rid of his beard, put on pinstripes for the first time Wednesday during his introductory press conference after signing a blockbuster nine-year, $324 million contract.
“I’d like to start with something that’s pretty special to my heart,” Cole said before taking out the famous sign he was photographed with at a Yankees game as a child, which reads “Yankee fan today tomorrow forever.”
“I’m here,” he said. “I’ve always been here.”
As Cole — who had his beard shaved in his hotel room by a Yankees clubhouse attendant — buttoned up his new No. 45 Yankees jersey, manager Aaron Boone said with a laugh, “He cleans up nice, doesn’t he?”
Cole, who was accompanied by his wife, Amy, and sported slicked-back hair to mask his locks, was immediately asked what made him choose the Yankees.
“Because it was my dream,” Cole said. “I had a second opportunity to chase it and it’s the best organization, in my opinion, in the league. There’s a process here that [general manager] Brian [Cashman] spoke to and that he just alluded to a couple minutes ago, about trying to bring the best people at each individual position to surround everybody with the best opportunity to succeed.
“And it doesn’t hurt to play for your favorite team.”
After his senior year of high school, Cole was selected by the Yankees with the No. 28 pick of the 2008 MLB Draft. The Yankees were reportedly planning on offering Cole a $4 million signing bonus, which was above the recommended amount. Cole ultimately chose to follow through with his commitment to attend UCLA on a baseball scholarship, never having negotiated with the Yankees at all.
Cashman talked about the history between Cole and the Yankees, noting that he feels like this is the right time for Cole to join the organization. Boone knows how much it means for the future.
“This is a big day for our franchise,” said Boone, who mentioned how much he enjoyed getting to know Cole during the negotiation process.
After his long list of thank-yous, Cole mentioned how his father went to middle school in New York and fell in love with the Yankees. His dad’s favorite players were Willie Randolph and Mickey Rivers, which played a part in Cole’s love for the Yankees.
It was no secret that Cole was the Yankees’ top priority, with reports of the franchise bringing in the California native’s favorite player growing up, former Yankee Andy Pettite, to help seal the deal. The team also let shortstop Didi Gregorius walk as they made it clear to him that they were going after Cole.
There are always concerns for players’ ability to play under the bright lights of New York, but Cole — who owns a career 3.22 ERA and 1.13 WHIP — welcomed the limelight when he was asked about how he’ll handle the expectations.
“Pressure is a privilege,” Cole said. “Pressure comes in situations that you’ve earned, right? You pitch in big games in September and October because you’ve played well all year. With that in mind, you have to have a process that you know you need to stick to to perform in those games. Because we can say it’s just another game, but we know when it gets to October, it’s really not.
“I came eight outs away from getting a ring, I felt like I could see the light underneath the door and then it was slammed shut in our face … I’m as hungry as ever to finish that journey, finish that challenge. In my opinion, there would be no better place than to do it in New York.”
