The Sign and the Count

Yankee Fan Today Tomorrow Forever

As an 11-year-old at Games 6 and 7 of the 2001 World Series, he held a handmade sign with those words. His father Mark, raised near Syracuse, had passed the fandom down to the kid from Newport Beach. The photo surfaced again years later, and he brought the faded sign to his introductory press conference.

The Yankees had drafted him once before — 28th overall out of Orange Lutheran in 2008. He did not sign. The family never negotiated, because Cole was committed to UCLA, where he studied political science with a theater minor. Three years later the Pirates made him the first overall pick, and he signed for $8 million.

Thirteen Seasons

Five seasons in Pittsburgh, 2013 through 2017. He debuted in June 2013 and made his first All-Star team by 2015. Two seasons in Houston followed, with two more All-Star selections. Then New York, beginning in 2020 — six seasons and counting in the pinstripes his father raised him to follow.

He married Amy Crawford, a UCLA softball player and sister of shortstop Brandon Crawford. They have two sons, Caden and Everett. Teammates call him Chef G — he hosts barbecues for the roster and plays guitar and piano away from the park.

On July 17, in his 13th major-league season, Gerrit Cole recorded his 2,300th career strikeout. Every one of his 328 appearances has been a start. He has thrown 2,016 innings with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP, 156 wins against 85 losses. The Cy Young came in 2023, the year of his sixth All-Star selection.

He is 35. His total stands at 2,317, with 66 of them this season across 11 starts, still in the Yankees' rotation.

Reporting: ESPN, Wikipedia, Gerrit and Amy Cole Foundation. Career and biographical data: MLB StatsAPI, via the Fever engine.