Why Gerrit Cole won’t fall into Yankees pressure trap

As a big leaguer for 10 seasons, a major league manager for 17 years and for the past dozen years a holiday visitor to Manhattan, Clint Hurdle has an understanding of the relationship between baseball and New York, where Hurdle’s playing career ended with the Mets in 1987.

As Gerrit Cole’s manager for five seasons in Pittsburgh, Hurdle has a handle on the 29-year-old right-hander’s mentality and makeup.

“He looked for the opportunity, and he has the opportunity,’’ Hurdle told The Post on Sunday via phone about Cole, who signed a record-breaking nine-year deal for a whopping $324 million to join the Yankees last week and will be introduced at a Yankee Stadium press conference this week. “He…