Opening Day will be Gerrit Cole’s 13th regular season start in a Yankee uniform, but when he walks up to the mound on Thursday, it will be his first appearance in front of his home fans.
As soon as Cole was signed by the Yanks prior to the 2020 season, Opening Day quickly became a hot ticket, marking Yankee fans’ first time seeing a bonafide ace begin the season in pinstripes in years.
But the COVID-19 pandemic quickly washed away that excitement, and Cole has still yet to pitch in front of fans in the Bronx. Needless to say, he is looking forward to toeing the slab at Yankee Stadium with more than artificial crowd noise on his side.
“To use a baseball term, I kind of feel like I got dry humped,” Cole said of the 2020 season, which was supposed to be an introductory tour for Yankee fans to see their new prolific ace. “I anticipate there being some energy. It’s been a long time since people in New York have been to a baseball game. I’m looking forward to it, looking forward to my family being there. Hopefully we come out crisp, play a nice game and set the tone for the season.”
Cole has gotten somewhat of a tease for what’s to come this spring, with limited fans allowed at George M. Steinbrenner Field, and they were noticeably supportive through Cole’s final tune-up before Opening Day, cheering him through 5.2 shutout innings that included five strikeouts, no walks and just two hits.
“The guy in right center field pumping me up before the game just nonstop, he was on like level 10,” Cole said. “I had to lock it in a minute. He was making me smile. It’s spring training, I appreciate the ovation and looking forward to giving them a few more reasons to stand up this year.”
It won’t be a full crowd on Thursday afternoon, but they’ll be seeing Cole in person for the first time since being brought over on a record-breaking contract after a year of waiting.
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