Gerrit Cole, broadcaster?
Well, at the very least, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner and Yankees ace joined the YES Network broadcast of the second inning Tuesday night in Arizona — and most importantly provided an update on his rehabilitation.
Cole said the rehabilitation for his elbow injury (nerve inflammation and swelling) was going “smoothly” and that he had several good days in a row during his first stint on the injured list of his career.
“We had a lot of good days in a row,” Cole said while wearing a helmet from the first base dugout. “Everything is going well, everything is going pretty well. So that’s certainly encouraging.
David Cone asked Cole how he rebuilds his arm without throwing a baseball.
“You build it from all the different vulnerable positions,” Cole said. “And you kind of build it into each position specifically. When you are at certain positions in your arm path and so on, you train those positions eccentrically and concentrically. And then you train them from a strength perspective, then a dynamic perspective, then you put it all together with one arm (plyometrics), then you finally throw the baseball.
Before Tuesday’s game against the Diamondbacks, manager Aaron Boone told reporters that Cole was about to start a throwing program.
However, the date is not yet clear.
“I know he’s going in that direction,” Boone said. “So far everything seems to be going well. »
Cole discussed a number of other topics, including the team and Anthony Volpe’s strong start.
The shortstop, who went 4-for-4 Monday, led off Tuesday with an opposite-field single in the second inning.
“This kid is on fire,” Cole said before adding that Volpe has a “flatter path” and is a player with a huge growth mindset.
Cole added that the 5-0 start the Yankees have built “means a lot” to both the team and the fan base, but admitted that a few of the games against the vaunted Astros could have gone one way or the other, but he won’t complain if he does. luck bounced the way of the Bronx Bombers.
When play-by-play manager Michael Kay asked Cole if playing for the Yankees — a team the pitcher grew up rooting for — lived up to his dream, he responded in the affirmative.
“It’s so special to wear this uniform, to be associated with the city, to call the city your home and to represent the Yankee brand and the great Yankee players that came before you,” Cole said. “It’s one of a kind.”
—Greg Joyce contributed to this report.
New York Post
