Not much went right for the New York Yankees in 2023, but if there was any silver lining, it was their Cy Young Award winner in Gerrit Cole.
It’s hardly a surprise, but now Gerrit Cole is the American League Cy Young Award winner.
It’s the first award for the New York Yankees ace.
The Yankees signed the 2011 No. 1 overall pick to the largest deal ever given to a pitcher (nine years, $324 million) before the 2020 season, and like most superstars in the Bronx, it’s been a love-hate relationship.
It was always clear the talent Cole possesses, but questions arose when he couldn’t even get through three innings in the 2021 AL wild-card game (albeit hurt), and he had maybe the most disappointing season of his career in 2022. Fans started to wonder if he was a product of sticky stuff and if he was truly an ace.