Danielle Parhizkaran/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
There is no mound on the field at Yankee Stadium in December, but Gerrit Cole still performed masterfully in his first home appearance in pinstripes.
Wearing a No. 45 jersey and a crisp Yankees hat at his introductory news conference on Wednesday, Cole captivated an audience of team executives, coaches and even some cynical reporters used to hearing dull platitudes from the megastars who arrive in the Bronx.
Cole distinguished himself by referencing the sport’s labor champions from long before his time, thoughtfully considering questions about expectations of multiple titles, and, in a grand flourish, brandishing the sign he took to the World Series in 2001, when he was 11 and cheering on the Yankees.