Gerrit Cole finally has the hardware to match his status as one of the best pitchers of his era.
The Yankees ace unanimously captured the American League Cy Young award Wednesday night, the first of his career after a season in which he was dominant from start to finish.
Cole received all 30 first-place votes, beating out fellow finalists Kevin Gausman and Sonny Gray for the top pitching honor.
After twice finishing second for the Cy Young, in 2019 and 2021, Cole left no doubt this year to claim the elusive award.
The right-hander posted a 2.63 ERA while racking up 222 strikeouts across 209 innings and 33 starts.
He led the majors in WHIP (0.981) and the AL in ERA, starts, innings, shutouts (two) and quality starts (24).
Cole became the first Yankee to win the Cy Young since Roger Clemens in 2001 and only the sixth Yankee in franchise history, joining Clemens, Ron Guidry, Sparky Lyle, Whitey Ford and Bob Turley.
“For him to do it as a Yankee, with all the other great Yankees that have won Cy Youngs … he’s been a lifelong Yankee fan,” Aaron Judge said after Cole fired a shutout against the Blue Jays in his final start of the season. “He’s looked up to Yankees. He wanted to wear pinstripes. He wanted to come to this city and perform. It’s all coming true.”
While the Yankees rotation struggled with injuries and underperformance around him, Cole provided the dependability, consistency and mastery worthy of his nine-year, $324 million contract.
The 33-year-old, who prides himself on taking the ball every fifth or sixth day, allowed two runs or fewer in 26 of his 33 starts, the most in the majors.
Though his first three seasons in The Bronx were all strong, Cole took his game to another level this year. He arrived at spring training feeling as comfortable and entrenched as he ever has in pinstripes, with the results that followed matching his mindset.
Throughout the year, manager Aaron Boone repeatedly pointed to Cole managing situations better than he had before, which allowed him to minimize damage when he did get into trouble.
Not only did Cole cut down on the AL-high 33 home runs he allowed in 2022 (he yielded 20 in 2023), but he also held opponents to a .197 average with a .581 OPS with runners in scoring position – right in line with his overall marks.
“He’s obsessed with getting better,” Boone said. “Breaking down an outing, even an outing he’s pitched excellent in, like, ‘OK, what adjustments do I need to make? … Where did I leave something on the table? Where do I have to change?’ He’s constantly searching for that. It’s fun to be a part of and to see him grind.”