Gerrit Cole #45 of the New York Yankees celebrates after defeating the Baltimore Orioles 6-0 at Yankee Stadium on September 11, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
Gerrit Cole had a great idea to surprise the Yankees scout who originally drafted both him and Kyle Higashioka.
Gerrit Cole’s Yankees journey began in earnest in late 2019, but the benchmarks he achieved with the organization certainly predate him signing a nine-year, $324 million contract.
His childhood fandom is well-documented, and it all built to a high school graduation in 2008 and a decision that had to be made: sign with the Yankees after being selected in the first round, or join Trevor Bauer in a stacked UCLA rotation?