Tag: MLB

Gerrit Cole shaved his beard after joining the Yankees and looks completely different

RIP to his facial hair.

You knew it was going to happen from the moment the news broke that Gerrit Cole was signing with the New York Yankees: the facial hair would have to go.

After all, that’s the policy the Pinstripes have had forever, and Cole — a Yankees fan when he was younger, growing up in California — wasn’t about to be the guy who breaks it.

Which means the ace now looks like a completely different person after he grew out his hair and put together an impressive beard while making a postseason run with the Houston Astros.

Here’s the before photo of what he looked like:

(Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

And after:

And some reaction:

RIP that glorious beard.

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8 great sports movies/documentaries since 2010 you likely didn’t catch

These sports flicks from 2010-2019 were picked because the casts are stellar and the stories compelling. Find ’em and watch ’em.

These flicks were picked because the casts are stellar and the stories compelling.

If you don’t like ‘em, meh, take it up with the league office.

 

I, Tonya (2018)

(Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

Just about everyone in the world knows about the whacked 1994 figure skating soap opera

As You Turn and Turn and Turn: Figure skating rivals Harding v. Kerrigan. But this showcases the backstory, which is coldly dark and weirdly, wildly comical, and features an Oscar-winning performance by Allison Janney as Harding’s mother.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7, Page 8

Rendon signing with Angels caps insane week for Scott Boras

What I’m Hearing: The hot stove was on fire during the Winter Meetings in San Diego, and as Bob Nightengale details, Scott Boras was the center of attention.

What I’m Hearing: The hot stove was on fire during the Winter Meetings in San Diego, and as Bob Nightengale details, Scott Boras was the center of attention.

Here’s young Gerrit Cole rooting on the Yankees with an awesome sign during the 2001 World Series

It was fate!

You have to love when the stars align and a player who grew up rooting for a team ends up with that franchise.

That appears to be the case for Gerrit Cole.

Despite the fact that he was born and raised in California, where he’d eventually pitch for UCLA, Cole was a Yankees die-hard growing up. He was initially drafted by the franchise in the first round of the 2008 MLB draft before he turned them down to go to college and was eventually drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011.

Now, after agreeing to a record-breaking contract, Cole is a New York Yankee.

Back when he was 11 years old, Cole was in attendance at Games 6 and 7 of the 2001 World Series, which you may recall that the Yankees lost. Cole was snapped holding a sign showing his Pinstripes fandom, a photo that’s being shared everywhere now that he’s a member of the Yanks:

More on that moment from The Athletic:

Cole, then 11, hailed from Orange County, not far from Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Yet his parents had familia roots in upstate New York, and his father Mark had shared his affection for the Yankees. It didn’t hurt, of course, that Cole came of age during the dynastic period in the late 1990s, or that he revered closer Mariano Rivera. With the team back in the World Series and facing the Diamondbacks in 2001, the Coles traveled to Phoenix for Games 6 and 7.

The Yankees lost both games, coming apart in heartbreaking fashion in Game 7, but the image of a devoted young fan with an artistic sign was enough to intrigue William Perlman, a photographer at the Newark Star-Ledger. He snapped the photo in the moments before Game 6. It appeared soon after. Seven years later, it surfaced once more when the Yankees selected the same kid in the first round of the 2008 draft.

This is just the best.

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The Yankees overpaid for Gerrit Cole. That’s exactly what they needed to do.

It had to happen.

Start spreading the news: the New York Yankees backed up about 10 Brinks trucks for Gerrit Cole, giving him a reported $324 million contract over nine years. As my colleague Andy Nesbitt wrote, it’s good to be an MLB starting pitcher these days.

If you’re looking at that deal and thinking that’s way too much money for a pitcher who will be 38 years old by the time that contract expires (there’s a opt-out after five years, but would you opt out of that deal? Didn’t think so), that’s because it is.

But that doesn’t matter. The Yankees needed to make this move and it required giving out that kind of money and years.

In the past three years, the Yankees have won 91, 100 and 103 games, falling short of the World Series despite a lineup filled with sluggers — Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres, Didi Gregorius, Miguel Andujar, to name a few. But it was always starting pitching that fell short in the postseason — Masahiro Tanaka had a string of good playoff starts until Game 4 of the ALCS this year and Luis Severino has had his share of struggles.

The Yankees already had so much money invested in Stanton (who will hopefully rebound from an injury-plagued 2019), Tanaka, Severino, closer Aroldis Chapman, bullpen arm Zack Britton, back-end starter J.A. Happ … the list goes on. And there are arbitration-eligible raises coming for some of their young studs.

And that’s where we get to the player and the contract. Cole went from former first-overall pick by the Pirates in 2011 to finally putting it all together for the Houston Astros in the past two seasons. He’s an ace in his prime, one who’s thrown over 200 innings four times in his career and who struck out a league-leading 326 batters.

If you want a pitcher of Cole’s caliber, one that strikes fear in playoff lineups and one that can throw perhaps three times in a seven-game series, you have to give him those extra years and money to entice him. The Yankees know Cole might not be worth that kind of money in, say, Year 6 of this deal.

But they’re not paying that for his 35-and-over performance. They’re paying that and a luxury tax bill to win a World Series NOW.

On paper, it looks like they have the team do it now that they have Cole in pinstripes.

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Is being a starting pitcher the best job in sports? Ye$ it i$!

Being a good starting pitcher is so money.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

There are many great positions in sports – like being a star QB who is known for leading his team down the field in key moments and getting big wins, or being the shooting guard who buries big shots when things matter the most.

But nothing really beats the life a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball, which is something we’re learning again this week.

Did you see that deal Stephen Strasburg signed earlier this week to remain with the Nationals – 7-years for $245 million… all of which is guaranteed!?

And then just after midnight on Wednesday it was announced that Gerrit Cole agreed to a 9-year, $324 million deal with the Yankees.

$324 million!

I mean, come on. It doesn’t get any better than that.

While NFL players are putting their brains on the line every play and NBA players are running up and down a wood floor in playing 82 games a year (unless you’re a really great player and get load management nights off), starting pitchers are over there in a beautiful ballpark smiling on a nice summer day and taking it all in.

These guys only really have to work every fifth day. If they start on three-days rest they’re hailed as gosh darn heroes, though heroes that could break apart at any point, but still – heroes!

In between starts they spend their time playing long toss in the outfield (who doesn’t like some long toss!?) before spending the day or night sitting on the bench and spitting seeds while watching their pals play a good ol’ game of baseball.

Then after some nice time off they finally take the mound. After six innings their bosses are usually like, “OK, man. You did great. Let me have that ball and you go enjoy the rest of the game from the clubhouse.” There they can shower and watch on TV as the pressure falls on their teammates to wrap things up in a victorious way. Plus there are usually snacks in the clubhouse, so they can eat those while watching.

Then it’s back to a few days of long toss and seeds.

Sure, things can get a little intense in the postseason but even then if you go seven innings and leave with a lead people will rise and give you a boisterous  ovation as you politely tip your cap and head for shower and snacks.

It’s a great life!

Plus, if you’re really good you make a boatload of money and never have to worry about a darned thing again. Sure, you’re elbow will probably blow out at some point but that’s fixable and then you get even more time off.

Starting pitchers, man. Living the dream!

Tuesday’s biggest winner: Celine Dion? Celine Dion!

The legendary singer is on tour in Toronto and she was given a very big championship ring by the Raptors’ mascot, because of course? It looks cold in Toronto because she has what looks like 19 layers on, but that ring sure is noticeable. She had some nice things to say about Toronto, too.

Quick hits: Best NBA teams of the decade… Worst NFL calls of the year… Le’Veon has a career (bowling) game… And more!

– We’re getting into our “Best of the Decade” content and Mike Sykes ranks the best NBA teams of the 2010s. Did he get things right?

– We also have some year-end content coming your way. Check out the worst calls by NFL refs this season… there were a lot to choose from!

– Le’Veon Bell spoke Tuesday about that trip to the bowling alley he took last Saturday night when he was still rebounding from the flu. He rolled a career-high score that night of 251, which isn’t bad. But still, Jets fans can’t like that.

– New Arkansas football coach Sam Pittman was an emotional wreck at his introductory press conference.

(Follow me on Twitter at @anezbitt. It might change your life. Just don’t tell me about your fantasy team.)

MLB world reacts to Gerrit Cole’s record-breaking $324 million deal with Yankees

The Yankees got their guy.

Major League Baseball now has it’s first $324 million starting pitcher as Gerrit Cole has agreed to a 9-year deal with the New York Yankees that gives him the biggest contract ever for a pitcher.

The former Astro had long been sought after by Brian Cashman and the Yankees. News finally broke shortly after 9 p.m. on the West Coast on Tuesday night, where there Winter Meetings are happening in San Diego.

Cole’s 9-year, $324 deal makes him just the fifth player in MLB history to have a deal be over the $300 million mark.

His deal comes just over a day after Stephen Strasburg signed a 7-year deal worth $245 million with the Nationals.

Cole, 29, went 20-5 last year for the Astros and was 15-5 in 2018.

The MLB world reacted to his deal with the Yanks:

Rays’ Blake Snell has NSFW reaction to Tommy Pham trade while streaming on Twitch

He wasn’t happy.

The San Diego Padres are about to make a move that will continue to help them build a contending team.

Per USA TODAY Sports, the Padres are “on the verge” of acquiring outfielder Tommy Pham, who had an .818 OPS to go with 21 home runs and 25 steals, in exchange for power hitting outfielder Hunter Renfroe. The two teams will also swap prospects.

It’s a move that may not make Rays fans happy even though Renfroe slugged 33 dingers last year. But it might be necessary for a Rays team that always has to be budget-conscious since Pham could earn a big raise in arbitration.

And now we get to Pham’s now-former teammate, ace hurler Blake Snell, who happened to be streaming on Twitch when he saw the news break about the trade. He wasn’t pleased. (WARNING: NSFW language ahead):

“We gave Pham up for Renfroe and a damn (expletive) prospect?”

Snell later clarified with more feelings about Pham, saying he was “upset” that the Rays gave up “the swag of our team”:

Hopefully his new teammate Renfroe doesn’t take that the wrong way when they see each other for Spring Training.

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