Authenticity Of Gerrit Cole Sign Debated Online

Minutes after being introduced as a Yankee, Gerrit Cole had already found himself at the center of a controversy.

At the Yankee Stadium news conference Wednesday, the newly signed All-Star pitcher busted out the sign he was photographed holding as an 11-year-old at the 2001 World Series that read "YANKEE FAN TODAY TOMORROW FOREVER."

At first glance, there was something off about the sign. The lettering was tan, not blue, and there were no longer pinstripes on it.

Gerrit Cole kept the sign -- pic.twitter.com/WduQ4bDtY1

But Cole insisted it was the same sign from his childhood and laughed when he was told there was debate online about its authenticity. He said it had been stored at his parents' home in California and faded over the years. 

"It's the same one," he said. "It's 18 years old. I had it on my wall for a few years, and I think that's why it faded."

But some people aren't buying it.

I'm a sign truther and I say they are two different signs. https://t.co/CGHLZtxuyM

Honestly I think we need an intense forensic investigation to make sure that's the same Gerrit Cole sign

Others, however, took Cole for his word.

I have old, faded #Yankees newspapers, pennants and other keepsakes still tucked away in my parents' house, too. Gerrit Cole's sign made him relatable and gave him instant credibility. $324M helps, but his passion for this team is genuine. Pretty cool to see.

That Gerrit Cole sign was dug out of the same hole Cashman had Ellsbury locked away in

WFAN's Maggie Gray and Marc Malusis discussed the controversy on their show Wednesday.

"This is more to say about, like, where our society is and what we believe and what we don't believe right now as any kind of comment on Gerrit Cole," Gray said. "Because you'd have to be a 100% psychopath to do something like that today, and I don't believe he is. This is obviously the same sign, and it created a really feel-good moment."

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the sign added to an already-special moment Wednesday.

"We talk about him growing up a Yankee fan and what it meant to him and everything, (but) the fact that you still have that I think really shows you how much he cared about this and what it means to him to put those pinstripes on today," Boone told WFAN's Suzyn Waldman and Sweeny Murti.

The debate reminded some of the 2015 viral dispute about whether a dress in a photograph was white and gold or blue and black. 

From this day on, the world will be divided into two people. Blue & black, or white & gold. https://t.co/xJeR7GldwP pic.twitter.com/i6BwVzPzSZ