Gerrit Cole Signs Historic Deal With New York Yankees
December 18, 2019 | Baseball
NEW YORK โ Former UCLA standout Gerrit Cole officially inked his new contract with the New York Yankees on Wednesday morning, giving him the largest contract for a pitcher in Major League Baseball history.
Cole, who was signed to a nine-year, $324 million deal, was introduced by the Yankees in a news conference at Yankee Stadium. His new contract eclipsed the $245 million deal signed by Stephen Strasburg earlier this offseason that represented the previous largest-ever contract for a pitcher.
He had previously been drafted by New York in the first round of the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft, but opted to honor his commitment to UCLA. Cole would go on to star for three years in Westwood before entering professional baseball.
"It was my dream," said Cole. "I had a second opportunity to chase it, and it's the best organization in my opinion in the league."
The hype is very real. pic.twitter.com/djRwLLHeUF
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) December 18, 2019
The Santa Ana, Calif. native had a dominant season in 2019 with Houston, posting a 20-5 record while leading the American League in both ERA (2.50) and strikeouts (326). His strikeout figure set a new Astros single season-season franchise record.
Cole missed bats at a historic rate, as his 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings set a new single-season MLB record, besting Randy Johnson's 2001 season (13.4). He also set a new MLB record by recording 10 or more strikeouts in his final nine starts of the regular season.
In seven career MLB seasons with Houston and Pittsburgh, Cole is 94-52 with a 3.22 ERA and 1,336 strikeouts over 1,195 innings.
As a three-year rotation member at UCLA from 2009-11, Cole recorded a career 3.38 ERA with 376 strikeouts in 322 1/3 innings before being selected No. 1 overall by Pittsburgh in the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He is the only pitcher in program history to record 100+ strikeouts in three individual seasons and still ranks second in UCLA history for career strikeouts.
Looking good in pinstripes, @GerritCole45!#GoBruins | #MLBruins https://t.co/fT5I5gupJT
— UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) December 18, 2019
