More likely it's Gerrit Cole and not Matt Blake that is responsible for the Yankees pitching success.
How ‘extra pitching coach’ Gerrit Cole is helping the Yankees while injured
New York Yankees pitcher Nestor Cortes was roughed up early in his Opening Day start against the Houston Astros, giving up four earned runs in two frames before settling in and pitching five innings. The Yankees came back to win, 5-4. After Cortes was finished, injured ace Gerrit Cole pulled the lefty aside in the dugout to discuss his start. Cole, who YES Network’s Michael Kay referred to as the “Yankees’ extra pitching coach” during the broadcast, even covered his mouth at points in case any TV cameras were catching the conversation.
“He has a different view of the game from the pitching coaches because he’s done it for so long,” Cortes said. “He’s more about in-game insights than game planning. Maybe he’ll see something during a first at-bat or a second at-bat — what can you do to make it better now or to face the guy better a third time around?” It was just the first of many instances this season in which Cole has helped guide the Yankees not from the mound, but from anywhere his voice can be heard.
“I enjoy sharing the blessing,” Cole said, “sharing the wealth of information that I’ve been given and I like to see my teammates succeed.”
He’s done it again and again.
“That’s who he is,” manager Aaron Boone said.
Cole won’t be able to pitch for the Yankees until at least May 28. The 33-year-old is on the 60-day injured list, recovering from right elbow nerve inflammation and edema. It’s the first major injury of an 11-year career that has seen him make 30 or more starts in seven of the last nine seasons (he made all 12 of his starts in the 2020 pandemic-shortened season). His 2023 American League Cy Young Award victory, six other top-10 Cy Young finishes and career 3.17 ERA in 300 starts have him on what could be a Hall of Fame trajectory.
But ask Carlos Rodón. Ask Marcus Stroman. Ask Clarke Schmidt and just about anyone on the Yankees’ pitching staff.
Cole has found so many ways to help the Yankees even when he hasn’t been able to throw a single pitch.
“Every time we have a game, we have 2 1/2 hours that we have to lock in and hopefully we’re doing something to contribute to that,” he said.
When Stroman threw his first bullpen session as a member of the Yankees this spring, Cole watched from behind the mound. Not long after, Stroman said he grabbed his phone and found a welcome surprise — a “long text” from Cole with “his assessment” of how Stroman performed.
On a quiet afternoon in February, a mostly empty Yankees clubhouse — save for Cole and Rodón — opened to media. The lockermates were engaged in an intense discussion on the intricacies of throwing a cutter, a pitch Cole had added to his arsenal in recent years and one that Rodón had been looking to learn as he works to add a third pitch to his vaunted fastball-slider combination.
And there’s hardly a day that Schmidt doesn’t pick Cole’s brain as he tries to live up to his promise as a 2017 first-round pick. Schmidt credits Cole for helping him with everything except tying his cleats. Cole has coached Schmidt on how to remain poised on the mound in tense spots, how to read swings, how to spot a hitter’s gameplay against him and so much more.
“I feel like I’ve learned more in the past year than I ever have in my career,” Schmidt said of being around Cole.
Through the Yankees’ first 12 games, they’ve gone 10-2, and pitching has been a big reason. Their 2.48 ERA is second-best in the majors. Their starting pitchers have a 2.52 ERA, the third-best in the game. A rotation missing Cole, its biggest weapon, has hardly faltered, and Cole’s presence has made a big impact.
“It’s amazing when you have the best pitcher in baseball kind of serving as your hype man and a coach when you come back to the dugout,” Stroman said.
For Cole, it all goes back to 2013. Back then, he was a 22-year-old rookie in a rotation with 36-year-old A.J. Burnett, who helped the Yankees win their last World Series in 2009; 29-year-old Charlie Morton and 29-year-old Francisco Liriano. The team went 94-80, finishing second in the National League Central before falling to the St. Louis Cardinals in the Division Series. Cole, promoted to the majors in June, went 10-7 with a 3.22 ERA in 19 starts and went 1-1 in the Division Series.
As the Pirates leaned on Cole, he leaned on the veterans around him, especially Burnett and Ryan Vogelsong, who spent 2016 with Pittsburgh.
“Those two guys fostered that culture that served me very well over the years,” he said. “I find that whether some of those conversations result in a moral victory, guys being able to get through something out there or some advice that actually is advantageous for us and increases performance — that’s ultimately what we’re trying to do.”
Sometimes, Cole will go home and rewatch that day’s starting pitcher’s outing and either shoot them a text later that night or have notes for them the next day. Sometimes, he’ll lean over the dugout railing and live vicariously through the pitcher on the mound, talking with the other pitchers around him about what pitch might come next and why. Stroman is a big believer in breathwork — particularly controlling his breathing between pitches — and was heartened to hear Cole talk about the same things.
“When you’re talking with him, it gives you more confidence,” Stroman said. “It’s almost like, I knew I felt like that, and I knew I was doing that, but when he gives you confirmation, you feel really ready to rock.”
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake is in awe of what he called Cole’s “care factor.”
“For someone who is as talented as he is and for the status he has,” Blake said, “he doesn’t need to do it. He understands the value of what good clubhouses look like and how important it is to bring guys along.”
A week ago during a 6-5 win in Arizona, Rodón escaped the first inning scoreless despite a runner reaching third base. When he returned to the dugout, Cole sought out Rodón. Holding a black plastic coffee stirrer in one hand, Cole looked like a maestro leading an orchestra, gesturing to discuss the movement of one of Rodón’s breaking balls. Rodón nodded along in agreement.
“I’ll take any insight from a guy like that any day,” Rodón said.
For Cortes, it goes back even longer. In 2022 — smack in the middle of Cortes’ breakout All-Star season — Cole meant so much to Cortes as a mentor. Cole had taken the time to dissect Cortes’ starts with him. He would pull him aside mid-game and offer tips. He had given him encouragement in the clubhouse or on red-eye flights between series.
So, Cortes offered Cole the ultimate compliment.
“Something I respect about you,” he told Cole, “is that you’re making so much money and you’re still acting like you’re not.”
Cole didn’t have much to say back, offering a polite thank you. In 2019, Cole signed a $324 million, nine-year contract with the Yankees — the most lucrative deal ever signed by a pitcher at the time.
Meanwhile, Cortes didn’t have the easiest time making ends meet for a while in his career. He pitched in various winter leagues for extra cash all the way up until 2021. Cortes said he thought that Cole didn’t seem bothered by the compliment, or even surprised that he brought it up.
“He’s making a ton of money and he’s still there, on the front lines with the guys,” Cortes said. “He could easily just cash it in and not care about other people’s careers. But something I respect about him is that he does make it his problem to make you better.”
Except Cole doesn’t see it as a problem. He loves it.
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