The Yankees’ ace is finally getting his first taste of normalcy in pinstripes.
Gerrit Cole is entering his fourth season with the Bombers. However, his first spring start against the Tigers Friday night at George M Steinbrenner Field in Tampa — three shutout innings allowing one hit while striking out four batters, throwing 51 pitches topping out at 99 mph according to the stadium radar gun — opened up his first “normal” spring training with the club.
The 32-year-old inked a nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees at the 2019 Winter Meetings — four months before MLB and the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic pushing the start of the 2020 season back to July 23 beginning a 60-game schedule with no fans in attendance.
