New York Yankees ace pitcher Gerrit Cole is helping a fellow colleague, Clarke Schmidt, after the latter struggled massively in his first start of the season.
Gerrit Cole, the epitome of an ace starter in Major League Baseball, is a source of inspiration for many. He is solely responsible for bringing the pitchers into the mainstream after signing a massive $324 million contract with the New York Yankees. The veteran knows his duties as a senior member of the team and has never shied away from stepping in to help the newcomers within the camp.
This season, the ace had a perfect start as he scripted a new opening-day record for himself. In his first start of the season, Gerrit Cole went home with 11 strikeouts in six scoreless innings. He became the pitcher with the most strikeouts on opening day for the Yankees. Moreover, the ace followed suit in his second start and recorded 8 strikeouts. Meanwhile, apart from handling his end of the business, the ace has stepped in to help the depth.
Gerrit Cole Working Closely With Clarke Schmidt
The New York Yankees’ top pitchers, Gerrit Cole, and Clarke Schmidt, are best of pals on and off the field. Cole jokingly calls Schmidt a dog as the latter bark around the locker room to poke fun at his teammates. However, the fun is left behind in the locker room as on the field, both go into beast mode. The ace has picked up a few limitations which Clarke needs to work on. For starters, Cole wants his teammate to slightly tone down his aggression. He feels when the adrenaline and intensity are high, the pitcher tends to make mistakes.
On the other hand, Clarke Schmidt, who began his career around the same time as Gerrit Cole, says he’s learned a lot by watching him from the sidelines over the years. Clarke understands how he needs to control his competitiveness and not let it get the better of him. Moreover, he got his new cutters approved by Cole, as he was one of the first people to have seen them. For Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt is at a much better pace with all the support he’s got from the veterans of the team. Moreover, he fully backs him to carry on as the fifth starter on the rotation.
Yankees Ace Registered An Unwanted Record On His Name
After creating a unique opening day record for the New York Yankees, Gerrit Cole is once again on the books of history but for all the wrong reasons this time. During the series decider against the Phillies, Cole made his second start. At the top of the seventh innings, Cole and the catcher behind the plate, Jose Trevino, hit a stalemate over the pitch selection. While paying with the Pitchcom device, the pitch clock rule completely slipped out of their mind.
Hence the 15 seconds timer went off, and the umpire called it a violation. With that, Gerrit Cole becomes the first ever major league pitcher to get a pitch lock violation in an official game. Certainly, it’s a record Cole would have lived without. Regardless, he is aware of these new rules now and will work on them in the future.
