Before traveling to Southern California two weeks ago to meet with Gerrit Cole, the Yankees filled a container shaped like a home plate that housed tablets with reams of information on the organization.
“Background on the Steinbrenners, front office, background on the player development, where to live in Manhattan, where to live outside of the city, and it was quite nice,’’ Cole said Wednesday at a Yankee Stadium press conference after his nine-year, $324 million deal was official.
Tucked inside the structure was a bottle of Masseto Merlot courtesy of Lou Cucuzza Jr. who runs the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium.