Gerrit Cole’s company made him nervous. He knew he belonged, knew his performance warranted his selection to the National League All-Star team, even heard as much from his All-Star teammates.
But his company made him nervous because of the combination of his respect for those players and his newfound status as one of them. Cole doesn’t miss much. He is cognizant of just about everything, including what those players have accomplished in their careers and how they did it.
“It’s been three months,” Cole said. “You don’t get paid $215 million for doing it for three months. You get paid $215 million for doing it for like seven years.”
The $215 million Cole mentioned referred to the money Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young award winner and last season’s NL MVP, will earn during his seven-year contract. He then mentioned Zack Greinke and Chris Sale, others in the category of the best of the best, others who have done it for years.
“I’m a little bit uncomfortable and nervous around some of these faces,” Cole said. “I am a fan of the game outside of just a player, so I respect a lot of people’s games in here.”
It has only been three months for Cole, but what a three months it has been. The 24-year-old right-hander selected first overall in the 2011 draft has a 2.30 ERA, the fifth-best mark in the NL. His 1171⁄3 innings are tied for eighth, his 116 strikeouts rank ninth. He wants to extend the good performance. He said he has heard from other players not to force things, don’t get ahead of himself, trust his abilities. “I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing, because from all the compliments I’ve received so far, it sounds like I’m on the right track,” he said.
“When Greinke’s talking to me about how fantastic he thinks my slider is [Monday], I was like, ‘My slider? Let’s talk about your slider, bro, all right?’
“David Price comes and finds me out in the lobby and says, ‘Dude, I really enjoy watching you pitch.’ I’m just like, ‘What’s wrong with you? Watch your own games, bro. I just throw fastballs inside. You’re painting all over the place, striking the world out.’ ”
Cole’s tone softens the words. He speaks with incredulity, with a smile on his face. Bashful as he sounds, his results speak to his improvement. Not just his numbers, but the testimony from others.
“I think just his command of all of his pitches has continued to improve and evolve, which is unfortunate for everybody else in the division,” Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun said. “He came up, obviously, with dominant pure stuff, but I’ve just seen him get a little bit better, get a little bit more consistent with his command over the last couple years. He’s able to throw any pitch in any count to both sides of the plate.”
In the winter, A.J. Burnett found a picture of he and Cole at spring training in 2013, before Cole reached the majors. Monday, they sat side by side at All-Star media day.
“Another child I gotta babysit,” Burnett joked.
“I think from when I saw him in 2013 to where he is now, there’s no comparison to that. He’s got a good pace, a good demeanor about him. When that game creeps up on him, he’s able to slow it down. That’s impressive for a young guy, especially a hard-throwing young guy.”
Burnett would know. He was that hard-throwing young guy.
Cole’s All-Star teammates excited him as well as made him nervous. He enjoyed talking to players while their guard was down, as opposed to when he sees them on the field, angry.
“It’s the best of the best,” he said. “There is no All-Star level that’s higher than this, so you know you’re doing something right when you’re at this game.”
Cole’s mother and father joined him in Cincinnati for the All-Star festivities. So did his girlfriend, Amy Crawford. Her brother, Brandon, a shortstop for the San Francisco Giants, made the NL All-Star team, so their parents came to town as well. Cole and both Crawfords rode in the same truck during the All-Star parade, making for an interesting MLB Network interview.
Cole pitched a scoreless inning in the All-Star game and struck out Mike Trout. After the festivities ended, Cole proposed. Crawford accepted.
Not a bad ending to Cole’s first trip to the All-Star Game, nervous and uncomfortable as his teammates may have made him.
Bill Brink: bbrink@post-gazette.com and Twiter @BrinkPG.
First Published: July 19, 2015, 4:00 a.m.