How Gerrit Cole Finally Made It To The Big Apple And Became A Member Of New York's Starting Rotation
Every player chooses their path of how they want to get to the major leagues
Those paths include
they have graduated from high school and have not yet attended college or junior college;
College players, from four-year colleges who have either completed their junior or senior years or are at least 21 years old; and
Junior college players, regardless of how many years of school they have completed “according to http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/draftday/rules.jsp
For Gerrit Cole his journey began in 2008 when the team that wears the pinstripes drafted him out of Orange Lutheran High School in California in the first round as the twenty eighth pick “according to http://www.mymlbdraft.com/2008/ .
However, he decided instead of going straight to the major leagues to attended The University Of Southern California where he would play three years starting in 2009 where the right -hander Made 15 appearances, including 14 starts...was one of three freshman to earn All-Pac-10 team honors...captured Freshman All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper...also earned second-team Freshman All-America accolades from Ping!Baseball...went 4-8 with a 3.49 ERA, compiling 104 strikeouts and 38 walks with a .191 opponent batting average in 85.0 innings...established UCLA's freshman single-season record with 104 strikeouts...ranked in the top-10 among Pac-10 pitchers in opponent batting average (second), strikeouts (fourth) and innings (ninth)...pitched in the Bruins' weekend rotation the entire season...in his seven losses as a starting pitcher, logged a 3.50 ERA and .193 opponent batting average, as UCLA's offense managed just 14 runs...posted three double-digit strikeout efforts...logged a season-high 13 strikeouts in a one-hit effort against Washington (April 17); allowed two unearned runs, one hit and three walks in 8.0 innings to record the victory...pitched a season-high 8.1 innings against California (May 8), allowing three runs (one earned) and two hits while collecting 11 strikeouts and five walks...registered 12 strikeouts in 5.0 innings in the second game of a doubleheader at East Carolina (March 13); was forced to exit the game with a 5-3 lead after five innings due to a rain delay; allowed three runs and three hits...allowed two runs and two hits in 6.1 innings at Arizona State (May 22), notching nine strikeouts and four walks...limited Oregon (May 1), to three runs (one earned) and six hits in 8.0 innings...earned the victory against Oregon State (April 24), allowing five runs and four hits in 5.0 innings...notched seven strikeouts and no walks at Stanford (April 9), allowing three runs and seven hits in 6.1 innings...secured the win at USC (March 21), surrendering two runs and six hits in 5.0 innings...registered eight strikeouts and five walks against Baylor in the Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park (Feb. 28), allowing one unearned run and two hits in 6.0 innings...collected the victory in his first career start, limiting UC Davis (Feb. 21) to one unearned run and one hit in 6.0 frames; struck out seven hitters and issued two walks. In 2010 Gerrit Cole Made 19 starts, going 11-4 with a 3.37 ERA, recording 153 strikeouts and 52 walks in 123.0 innings...earned second-team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball and Ping! Baseball and third-team accolades from Baseball America and the NCBWA...served as UCLA's No. 1 starting pitcher in the weekend rotation...ranked third in the nation in strikeouts (153), 13th in strikeouts per nine innings (11.2) and 15th in hits allowed per nine innings (6.73)...finished in the top-10 in numerous categories in the Pac-10, including tied for first in starts (19), second in innings (123.0), second in strikeouts (153), fourth in opposing batting average (.205) and ninth in ERA (3.37)...logged 10 or more strikeouts in five games, including a career-high 15 at Texas A&M Corpus Christi at the Whataburger College Classic (March 12)...went 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA in four postseason starts, registering 29 strikeouts and six walks in 26.2 innings...registered 13 strikeouts and two walks in eight innings in a 6-3 win over TCU (June 21) at the College World Series, limiting the Horned Frogs to three runs and five hits...earned All-Tournament Team honors at the NCAA Los Angeles Regional...allowed one hit in five scoreless innings in a 15-1 victory against Kent State in UCLA's opening game of the NCAA Los Angeles Regional (June 4), collecting seven strikeouts and issuing one walk...during the regular season, earned the victory in each of his first six starts, becoming the first UCLA pitcher to win his first five starts since Casey Janssen (2004)...allowed two runs and one hit in six innings, recording nine strikeouts and no walks in UCLA's season-opening 16-2 win over Southern (Feb. 19)...picked up the victory against Vanderbilt (Feb. 26), recording eight strikeouts and two walks in five innings, surrendering two runs and four hits...logged nine strikeouts and no walks, allowing one run and two hits in seven innings to collect the victory in game one of a doubleheader against Nebraska (March 5)...won his fourth consecutive start, an 11-3 win at Texas A&M Corpus-Christi at the Whataburger College Classic (March 12), striking out 15 and walking two while allowing two runs (one earned) and five hits in seven innings...did not earn a decision in a masterful effort at Arizona (April 23), allowing two runs and seven hits in eight innings while collecting 10 strikeouts and no walks in a series-opening win... collected his first Pac-10 victory of the season at Washington (May 7), limiting the host Huskies to two runs and three hits in eight-plus innings - did not allow a hit until the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning ... struck out 11 batters in a 6-1 series-opening win over Washington State (May 28), limiting the Cougars to one run and four hits (all singles) in 6.2 innings. Then in 2011 Gerrit Cole Went 6-8 with a 3.31 ERA in 16 starts as a junior, throwing four complete games (three CG wins)...allowed one run or less in seven of his 16 starts...secured honorable mention All-Pac-10 team acclaim...registered at least 10 strikeouts in five games...totaled nine quality starts as a junior (6.0+ IP, 3 ER or fewer)...carried a perfect game into the seventh inning in back-to-back outings...had a perfect game broken with a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh at Nebraska in 25-degree weather (March 4); also had a perfect game snapped with a one-out double in the top of the seventh against Georgia (March 11)...pitched consecutive complete game wins in Pac-10 play against Washington (April 1) and at Washington State (April 8)...against Washington, struck out 10 batters while allowing just one run and five hits in nine innings...at Washington State, nearly duplicated his pitching line from the previous week by allowing one run and scattering five hits, striking out seven and walking one...had 12 strikeouts through seven innings in a 6-2 loss to Georgia (March 11)...did not earn a decision in a spectacular start at Nebraska (March 4), limiting the Cornhuskers to two hits through nine scoreless innings (UCLA won the game, 1-0, in 11 innings in 25-degree weather)...opened the season with his first career complete game shutout, limiting San Francisco to four hits while logging 11 strikeouts and one walk in 1-0 victory (Feb. 18)...pitched two innings at Cal Poly in the first game of a doubleheader (March 21), due to a rain-altered schedule. “according to https://uclabruins.com/sports/baseball/roster/gerrit-cole/4374
After his time at UCLA the right -hander was picked in the MLB draft by Pittsburgh who is a member of the National League Central. There he would spend five years beginning in 2013. After his five years in Pittsburgh the right -hander went to Houston where he pitched two seasons beginning in 2018. In in his first season as a member of Houston who is a member of the American League West the right-hander finished with a record of 15-5 with a 2.88 earn run average. In his final season in Houston the right-hander finished with a record of 20-5 with a 2.50 earn run average. “according to https://www.mlb.com/player/gerrit-cole-543037
Then he had a decision to make. What decision was that? Where he was going to continue his Major League career? Was it going to be in Los Angeles as a member of the Los Angeles Angels or the Los Angeles Dodgers? Turns out that wasn’t the case. Instead, the right -hander decided to sign with the team he grew up cheering for. The team that wears the pinstripes! For how much? Nine years for $324 million dollars . “according to an article by Bryan Hoch on mlb.com
But unfortunately his start to his career in pinstripes has been put on hold. Why? Because of the Corona Virus that is affecting people in the United States and around the world. But when and if the 2020 season gets underway I know the new addition to the starting rotation will be ready to go out on the mound and give his new team all he has and perhaps pick up his first win in pinstripes. Why? Because every game that Gerrit Cole is the starting pitcher they will have a chance to win! Why? Because “according to Bryan Hoch who covers the team that wears the pinstripes for mlb.com who I reached out to via social media earlier this year says Cole is one of the best pitchers in the game, and he really impressed me this spring as far as how he instantly seemed to fit into the clubhouse environment. The stuff speaks for itself, I think you can make the case he should have won the Cy Young last year. The one-two punch of taking him away from the Astros and then adding him to New York makes the Yanks much stronger.