TAMPA — If you closed your eyes, it all sounded so familiar.

At 1:05 p.m., Terror Squad’s “Lean Back” played over the sound system. A few minutes later, the soundtrack changed to the pops of the catcher’s glove as Gerrit Cole began firing off fastballs.

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In two months, the setting may be Yankee Stadium for a regular-season game. On Wednesday, it was Steinbrenner Field for a Grapefruit League exhibition, but it represented another meaningful step for Cole in his comeback from the Tommy John surgery he underwent exactly 53 weeks ago.

It was only 10 pitches and one inning, but Cole offered a tease of what might lie ahead later this season, when the Yankees hope to welcome him back to their rotation and make another run at a World Series together.

“I just wanted to enjoy all of it,” said Cole, whose almost giddy demeanor suggested he did indeed enjoy himself. “So that was my goal for today. No reservations, try not to judge yourself too hard and just have fun with no thoughts about, ‘Do I want to take a little bit off?’ No, just go ahead and let it fly.”

Cole looked as sharp as he could in the limited sample size — he went to the bullpen afterward and threw nine more pitches — flashing good life on his fastball, which averaged 97.1 mph in the scoreless frame (it averaged 95.9 mph in 2024).

The 35-year-old threw six fastballs (topping out at 98.7 mph), two sliders and two knuckle curveballs. He allowed two singles — one on a bunt up the first-base line on the first pitch he threw, which he made a sliding attempt to field — but also got some fielding work in when he covered first base on a groundout to end the inning.

“I’m sure he scared everyone in the whole stadium when he went sliding on the first pitch he’s thrown since being back, but I loved the effort,” Austin Wells said. “I thought he looked great.”

The former AL Cy Young winner still has more hurdles to clear over the next two months before he could return to a big league mound, building up his workload and stamina after not throwing a single inning last season. But the Yankees are eagerly awaiting his return, and Wednesday’s tease only reemphasized that feeling, allowing them to dream about what their rotation could look like with him in it.

“It was exciting,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Kind of had the nerves over there, too, knowing obviously who he is to our team and what he means to us and the long road and another part of the journey back. I thought he looked good, thought he looked strong [and] poised.”

For now, Cole’s next step is throwing a bullpen session in a few days and then likely throwing two innings in a minor league game next week, assuming he continues to bounce back well.

All along, Cole has stuck to the original 14- to 18-month timeline, which would put him back in the majors by mid-May at the earliest. That he pitched in an exhibition on Wednesday did not do anything to speed up that timeline, because meticulously following the science and prescribed schedule has worked so well to this point that he does not plan to deviate from it.

Asked about beating a June 1 return — a date the Yankees have thrown out as a loose target — Cole wouldn’t bite.

“I wouldn’t commit to that,” he said. “Nothing has changed. Still on track, hoping it plays out that way. I’d be thrilled if it did.”

But most of all on Wednesday, Cole just wanted to enjoy the significant marker in his recovery. The surgery he had comes with so many mundane benchmarks early in the rehab process that Cole has found himself cherishing the bigger ones like pitching in a game, albeit a meaningless one lasting only 10 pitches.

“It was a bit of a special day for me, getting out to compete again and feel the support from the crowd,” Cole said. “That feels good.”