UCLA Hall of Famer Lands High Praise From New Teammate

Former UCLA Bruin and New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole received high praise from the Yankees' newest free-agent signing.

Oct 30, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) pitches during the first inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game four of the 2024 MLB World Series at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The MLB has seen a lot of moves go down in free agency this offseason.

One of the more active teams has been the reigning American League Champions, the New York Yankees, whose latest signing was that of two-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove-winning pitcher Max Fried.

Fried signed an eight-year, $218-million contract with the Yankees, and while New York is looking to bolster its rotation, Fried joining UCLA Hall-of-Fame alum Gerrit Cole was a huge reason for his coming to the Bronx.

Cole, a former Cy Young Award winner for the Yankees and multiple-time All-Star, has needed some rotational help since joining the Yankees. The Yankees ace recently gained a nice compliment from his new teammate.

"He [Cole] is one of the best pitchers of the generation," Fried said during his introductory press conference. "He's had a lot of success in the Cy Young runnings year in and year out. He's an established superstar in this game, so for me to be able to share and be in the rotation with him, pick his brain a little bit, I'm excited to sit and watch all of his starts."

Since joining New York, Cole has an average 3.12 ERA over his first five seasons in the Bronx. He has been known since joining the league and blossoming with his tenure with the Houston Astros to be at the top of his game.

While some injury issues plagued Cole earlier this season, he was still able to make his return and help the Yankees on their World Series run. Now, going into 2025, Cole has renewed his contract with New York, and the combination of him and Fried as the Yankees' one-two punch should pose issues for batters.

On his "generational superstar" run, as Fried described, Cole has had 2,251 strikeouts over his 12-year career, averaging 241 in a 162-game stretch, and has collected 915 strikeouts in a Yankees uniform, averaging 183 over his years spent in the Bronx.

As the Yankees continue to make moves after losing superstar Juan Soto to their cross-town rivals, the New York Mets, Cole and Fried should be a reliable duo for Yankee fans to get behind as they look to make their way back to the fall classic: the World Series.

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