This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch's Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
The text message blinked onto cell phones belonging to Clarke Schmidt and Will Warren ahead of the Yankees’ recent series at Coors Field, dispatches tapped from a different time zone. Even from miles away, Gerrit Cole finds a way to remain connected to his pitching staff.
“A couple tips from an old guy,” Cole’s note began, diving headfirst into advice concerning the mile-high altitude, then hammering this point: “If you execute and get to good spots, you’re going to have success.”
Cole’s next pitch in the big leagues may not be thrown until next June, but that isn’t stopping him from teaching, mentoring and leading. Let’s call this a glimpse into one of the advanced classes at “Gerrit Cole University.”
“I was just trying to get across what I would call a ‘predictable distraction,’” Cole said. “People are going to come in and talk about how the ball moves differently, so let’s get our minds wrapped around that. It doesn’t mean you can’t have success. Clayton Kershaw has historically pitched really well there. I’ve thrown some really good games there.
“It’s not necessarily getting them to think they’re going to be in a whole bunch of [stuff] all day, but when it comes up, it’s like, ‘All right, I’ve had a thought about this.’ Maybe they’ve visualized it a little bit. It’s just getting ahead of things like that so you’re like, ‘OK, we’ve talked about this. This is predictable. I know what I’m going to do.’”
Cole has offered lectures like this before; last year, an elbow injury delayed the righty’s season debut until mid-June. Now, as Cole proudly shows his healing scar following Tommy John surgery performed in March, his teammates are benefiting from his more frequent dugout lessons and between-starts debriefs.
Pitching coach Matt Blake said Cole adds “a wealth of knowledge” to the Yankees’ traveling party. The daily assignments haven’t changed for Blake, assistant pitching coach Preston Claiborne and bullpen coach Mike Harkey, but Cole provides a respected veteran voice when warranted, elevating standards for all involved.
“Generally speaking, our philosophies are really well aligned,” Blake said. “When he’s around, we definitely try and tap into him. I love having Gerrit around because he’s done it at a really high level in this environment. There are so many things from Gerrit’s experience in New York to share. We want to hear it. He gives good feedback.”
Schmidt said Cole brings a heavily analytical presence to their informal chats. If you’re enrolling to G.C.U., bring a calculator -- and maybe a philosophy textbook, too.
“He’s very cerebral and intelligent,” Schmidt said. “He thinks about it at a whole different level, the way he thinks about usages and percentages and swings, what guys are doing with certain pitches in different areas. He’s looking at things a lot of other guys aren’t really looking at.”
Asked for specifics, Schmidt mentioned ground ball rates, swing rates in certain counts, and damage areas -- not exactly light bedtime reading.
“Say you’re facing Freddie Freeman and he wants the ball down and in,” Schmidt said. “In the back of your mind, it’s like, ‘OK, I’m going to try to avoid this area.’ But then it’s, ‘How can I make a pitch look like it’s about to go down and in, but it’s not?’ So it’s kind of like playing offense while using defense. Pitching can be a form of offense.”
While Cole may be playing professor, he’s no magician. There have been bumps in the road: Warren attempted to absorb Cole’s advice about pitching in front of 50,000-plus at Dodger Stadium, but the defending World Series champions hammered the rookie for seven runs. Schmidt endured a rough outing against the Rockies, then bounced back with a six-inning gem against the Angels.
As Cole explains: “If you can manifest and adjust the results you’re looking for when you don’t have a good day, it shows that you’re being adaptable and your processes are good in terms of pushing you forward, even though the results aren’t necessarily what you’re looking for.”
While Schmidt and Warren build their resumes in real time, Cole has savored talking shop with Max Fried, calling the lefty “a real master of what he does.”
“He’s throwing a lot of different shapes at you, locating several different pitches really well at any given time in the count, and has a lot of different weapons to manipulate what his repertoire is going to be for whoever he’s facing,” Cole said.
It’s clear Cole’s brain is working overtime, expending energy his body usually would be two months into the season. Cole recently said he still pitches a game mentally each night before closing his eyes, quipping: “I haven’t given up any hits lately.”
There will come a day, Cole knows, when his right arm will be ready to uncork heaters and sliders again -- not soon enough, as far as he is concerned. Cole has heard August floated as a possibility to resume playing catch; as of now, he says everything “feels really great so far.”
Until then, Cole plans to continue his lecture series. The Yankees are better for it.
“I’m just trying to be a good teammate, sharing anything that I can,” Cole said.